The Fall
by LarayiaHunter
Summary: Congratulations, Karin. You failed life and died at the age of 23. So what happens after that when you're last name is "Kurosaki"? Anything could happen if you fit that description, especially if it's crazy and unrealistic like becoming a Shinigami. HitsuKarin angsty/terrible/slow burn train to Hell. Implied End Ships/IchiRuki Rated M for language/violence/sexual and mature themes
1. The End of the Beginning

Hello! And thank you for checking out my fic. I hope you enjoy it ^^

I just want to say a couple things before you start. First, and most importantly, THERE ARE LOTS AND LOTS OF SPOILERS! From both the manga and the anime! INCLUDING THE ENDING OF BLEACH! INCLUDING IN THIS INTRODUCTION AFTER THIS POINT. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED

Now, I am mostly an IchiRuki shipper (along with IchiSenna) but I respect Kubo's writing and ending the series with IchiHime and RenRuki. If you are an avid IchiRuki and hate IchiHime's guts, but you really wanna read some HitsuKarin. FEAR NOT! This is not an IchiHime centered fic! I do my best to only reference their relationships and I almost poke fun at it. For those who are Avid IchiHime Shippers, FEAR NOT! There still is some bits of fluffs and Easter eggs and such, but please do take note. THIS IS A HITSUKARIN CENTERED FIC! Anything and everything else are just extras~

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME! Please enjoy my fic :3c

* * *

"Come on, kid!" A dark haired young woman ordered, her hand wrapped tightly around another, much smaller hand. "You have to keep running!"

"B-but, Lady!" The little boy whined, sweat pouring down his face. The sound of rattling metal links clinked with each step he took. "Please, I can't run anymore!" He cried, looking up at the woman with big, watery, amber eyes.

The woman turned, her shoulder blade length hair trailing behind her. Only a few drops of sweat trickled down her long, pale neck, but it was enough to make her bangs stick to her forehead. "I'll carry you, then." She grouched, slowing her run and bending down with her back to the little boy. "Hurry, we can't stay stopped for too long! It'll catch up with us!" The child sniffled and trembled with fear, but climbed onto the woman's back, wrapping his arms around her shoulders for dear life.

The twenty-three-year-old wasted no time as she stood up and once again began running down the filled sidewalks of Karakura Town, Japan. People yelled at her as she sprinted through the crowds for being rude, but she ignored them. She had to get away or this kid was going to be in big trouble.

"Hey, Lady-!" The boy squeaked, tapping on her shoulder.

"Stop calling me that, I already told you what my name is!" The fourth-year shot back, turning down a side street away from the crowded sidewalk. Stupid work schedules, stupid weather. Of course everyone was walking home from work on such a nice day! Sweat started to move down her neck at an accelerated rate. The dark haired, dark-eyed girl knew that her cutesy-nice-spring-post-gym-workout outfit was going to be soaked with sweat after this.

Her tall, dark socks covered her strong calf muscles, she wore a pair of black spandex underneath her dark gray pleated skirt. She didn't need to wear her varsity jacket like a typical soccer player with her ranking would, but instead a red tank top with due to the warmer weather. She had the body of a professional athlete, lean and strong. She was the pride of Karakura University's soccer team and Medical major, Karin Kurosaki.

"LADY!" The boy screamed, looking behind him. Karin jumped at the cry, suddenly feeling deaf in one ear from the volume. She snapped her head to see what he was looking at.

Her eyes widened, her lips parting with shock. "Shit, shit, shit, shit, SHIT!" She hissed, turning back around and tried to pick up her speed. Not-so-luckily-for-her, today's outfit didn't consist of comfy running shoes. Her flats couldn't handle her speed.

Karin suddenly lurched forward, she felt as if she slipped on wet grass. Her left shoe flew off her foot as she and the boy she carried found themselves tumbling onto the dark pavement. The soccer play cried out in pain as hot-white pain flashed before her eyes, her chin slamming with full force into the stone ground.

She heard the kid screaming and crying, but he sounded as if he was miles away. She couldn't hear him clearly, like he had several scarves around his face that absorbed any words that came from his mouth. She, no, they had to get moving again. She wasn't going to let that kid get eaten by that moster.

But, man, did her face hurt.

Karin groaned, flipping herself over, opening her eyes up the slightest bit. The clear sky was a brilliant blue. There were a few couple of puffy, white clouds that decorated it's emptiness. A plane moved through the empty space far above her.

"K-kid, we gotta get going…" The young adult said weakly, trying to sit up herself up. Her head was spinning and her face was throbbing. She looked up, her vision like a fogged up windshield: unclear. "...kid?" She asked, blinking a few times, trying to blink the immense pain away. It hurt to talk.

There was a big black figure walking towards a very small figure. Karin couldn't tell what was happening, her head was hurting so much, even worse than the time she got that major concussion during the championship her first year of highschool. She closed her eyes for a moment, rubbing as her face. She looked down at her hand, seeing that it came away wet with crimson red. She looked back up at the road, seeing both the big figure and the tiny figure gone. But there was a new figure, and it was coming closer, and closer, and closer still, the sounds of a horn from far away deafened by a thick cloak, wait a second-

Everything went black.

* * *

"Someone, help! Oh, God, SOMEONE HELP!" A new voice shouted.

Karin opened her eyes, the pain in her head gone. She sat up, rubbing her head. "Ah, huh?" She asked, looking around. There was a couple standing over her, looking down at her. The man was shaking and shivering like he had seen a dead body. He was holding a phone to his ear, mumbling into it. A woman stood behind him, her hands over her mouth. She was crying, but Karin hadn't the slightly clue as to why.

"Oh my god, is she okay!?" The woman desperately asked.

Karin looked up at them, rubbing her chin. "I'm fine, really!" She replied with a peppy tone, trying to force the point that she was okay. "I just tripped, I'll be more careful!" She promised, standing up, forcing a small laugh to lighten the tense mood. She heard a metallic sound of chains and looked around suddenly remembering the little boy. "Kid, hey, kid!" She yelled, looking around the empty street. Where did he go? She just heard his chain, he couldn't be far. "Kid, this isn't the time to hide! The hollow is gone, my brother can help you!"

Karin frowned, her attention suddenly stolen by the sounds of sirens. She looked back at the road and back at the couple. They were still looking down, even though Karin was standing up in front of them. "Please tell me she's still alive, PLEASE let her be alive!" The woman cried hysterically, sobbing into her hands. Karin let out a breath, looking down at the road, utterly dumbfounded.

"Oh, god." Karin muttered, her eyes growing to the size of moons. "Oh, shit, no, NO, fuck!" She shouted, her knees suddenly feeling weak. She hadn't heard the chain of the little boy.

She had heard her own.

Karin's ghost sat by her broken and bloody body in a lake of her now-cooled blood. It had seemed like days of waiting for what was next, but it had in reality been only about an hour. The police came and took the couple's statements. The wife was driving and had looked down at her cell phone for one moment. She didn't even see the girl fall into the road, didn't even know there was someone there until her husband shouted at her to stop. But the wife didn't stop the car, the girl in the road it hit stopped it.

Karin sat there with her arms wrapped around her knees. What was she going to do? What about that kid? Did the hollow…?

Karin rested her forehead against her knees, letting out a deep breath of hot air. "...this sucks." She muttered, her eyes squeezed shut. That poor kid...

She was dead, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Karin opened her eyes, looking at the seven and a half metal chain links that hung from her chest.

She was dead, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Karin wasn't going to play in her last championship game in her soccer-playing career, she couldn't play soccer anymore. Period.

She was dead, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Karin was going to miss her's and her twin sister's graduation from med school, something they both worked so hard for. She wouldn't know what her first day as a licensed doctor would be like. She was going to miss Kazui's first day of grade school. She was going to miss Ichigo's and Orihime's next anniversary. Miss the next picnic at her mother's grave. Then what about all of the birthdays she could have shared with Yuzu?

Yuzu.

Karin's death was going to tear what was left of her family apart.

Karin swallowed hard at the thought, gritting her teeth. She sucked in a quick breath of air, thinking about it. Did they even know what had happened to her yet? Was Karin going to have to watch them get the news of what had happened to her? What was going to happen to Yuzu, would the strawberry-blonde make it through the grief?

Karin looked up as the cops finished taping off the scene. There were a few reporters but the cops couldn't identify the body. Karin's body was too messed up to I.D. and she had ditched her gym bag, which contained her wallet, back at the gym's entrance when the chase with the little boy first started.

Karin's dark eyes looked to the sky, the sun coming closer to end of the horizon. She took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "Well, Karin, you're dead. Most of your family sees ghosts. Let's get going so they don't have to see your body." She said herself, standing up as her eyes moved back to her body. "...or what's left of your body."

The walk back to her home took so long. Karin wanted to run, but her chest was too heavy to. She hated the agonizing wait to reach her doorstep. She knew her family must be getting worried, Karin's schedule for the day didn't include coming home late.

It didn't include her dying either.

Karin tried to plan out how things were going to go when she got home, but she couldn't. She tucked some of her black hair behind her ear and kept moving forward. It wasn't going to be pretty, but it had to be done.

"It's for the best," she started, trying to motivate herself. "For Yuzu, for Ichigo, for Kazui and Orihime, and even for Dad." There was a reason why Karin didn't do cheerleading instead of soccer. You have to be strong, for their sake.

* * *

"She should be home by now!" Yuzu cried, setting the table for dinner. "Karin is never late for dinner, at least not without telling me she'll be late!" Yuzu was a shorter girl with long, strawberry-blonde hair. Her eyes were the color of richest chocolate and sparkled like stars. She was one of the most popular girls in school due to her kind nature, adorable character, and famous cooking!

Isshin was sitting in the corner crying. "Ooooh, Misaki! Our beautiful daughter Karin was left home to go venture out into the world! She must had gone with some devilish boy who promised that he'd treat her riiiiiiiiight~!" He whined, rocking back in forth in a fetal position.

"No, Daddy, Karin wouldn't run away for a boy!" Yuzu called, bringing the food out from the stove. "I'm sure she's just coming home from soccer practice right now!" She suggested, trying to keep things. She saw somebody coming down the stairs and smiled. "Right, Ichigo?"

"Yeah, I'm sure she is." Ichigo replied with a smile, glancing at the door, his wife, Orihime, closely following behind him. "Is dinner ready, Yuzu?" He asked his sister.

Yuzu nodded, feeling a little more relieved with Ichigo home and downstairs. "Yes, it is!" She chirped back. "I just need to set the table and we'll be ready to tuck in!"

"I think I'm going to go see if Karin's walking up the street yet." Ichigo offered, walking towards the door, slipping on his shoes. "She might be walking up to the house right now for all we know." He suggested calmly.

"KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARIIIIIIN~! DADDY LOVES YOOOOOOU~~~~!" Isshin sobbed to the ceiling as if Karin could hear him. Orihime giggled as Ichigo growled, a vein pulsing in his neck. "Put a sock in it, Old Man!" Ichigo shouted, throwing a slipper at his father.

Headshot.

Orihime covered her mouth with her hand as she watched the slipper fly through the air, bounce off of her father-in-law, and then land on the ground. "Oh, Ichigo!" She gasped as she sent Ichigo a pouty look, seeing that Isshin looked like he was about to start crying even harder. Orihime, however, was terrible at looking upset.

"If there was a reason why she wouldn't come home, you'd be why!" The redheaded man pointed out as he ignored his father's complaints and shouts.

"You said you were going to be nicer to your father." Orihime commented to her husband as shook his head and groaned.

Ichigo looked at the brown-haired, bright eyed woman. "Orihime, we've been married for almost 7 years now. This is normal for us, Father-son bonding, you know?" Why was his family so nuts all the time?

"I know, but it doesn't mean I need to like it." Orihime retorted happily, tapping Ichigo's cheek with her fingers. Ichigo couldn't help but smile at her.

"Hey, Dad, are you gonna go outside and look for Auntie?" A very young child called from the couch, popping his head up into view. He had very gentle, warm honey eyes like his mother. His hair, which was the color of oranges, was fluffy and soft. He had very round features and a big smile. Nothing about him could ever look threatening.

"Yeah, I'm going to go just walk around the block. But how about you stay here and help Aunt Yuzu and Mom set up dinner, okay?" Ichigo requested with a small smile.

Kazui looked up at at his father with big eyes and nodded. "Okay~!" He replied as he hopped off the sofa and hobbled over to the kitchen.

"Here you go, Kazui. Can you set up the plates for me?" Yuzu asked sweetly, looking down at her nephew as she handed him a small stack of dishes.

"Mmmhmm!" Kazui chirped as he began to set the table.

The oldest strawberry in the room smiled at the scene taking place before him. Only one person was missing now. Ichigo turned to the door and went outside, shutting the front door behind him. He looked both ways up the street, looking for a sign of his dark haired sister. Karin wasn't in sight, at least yet.

Suddenly, a wave of a strong spiritual pressure rushed through the neighborhood. Ichigo's eyes widened, suddenly alert and looking for the source. He reached into his cargo pants' pocket for his substitute-soul reaper pass. Ichigo decided to walk up the street towards the high school soccer fields, suddenly feeling a little uneasy. He walked for a few minutes, keeping a lookout for his sister and what ever released the wave of energy.

"Hey, Ichigo."

Ichigo whirled around, ready to push the ancient piece of wood against his chest. The smiling face who he was looking for looked back at him. Ichigo's face paled, his heart skipping a beat. "K-Karin?"

"Yeah, it's me." She replied, smirking and holding up the chains that hung from her chest. "Don't tell Dad, but I kinda died."

* * *

The closest thing I will have to an uploading schedule for this fic is that I will update it once a month. However, in that single upload, I WILL DUMP A SHIT TON OF CHAPTERS. Updating every week is kind of a lot, I just write when I can. I am a busy college student and cosplayer. Let me live my liiiiife~

In addition, if you wanna check out my tumblr, I post my Hitsukarin sketched that are related to this story there. HOWEVER THERE ARE MAJOR SPOILERS TO THIS STORY AMONG THOSE FILTHY DRAWINGS (some of them are actually filthy, NSFW ahhhhhh) so be warned. Here's the link: and search under the tag "My art"


	2. Brother

_Don't tell Dad, but I kinda died_.

Ichigo felt like he was going to be sick. Karin looked untouched, almost exactly the way she looked when she left the house for the gym this morning. The only difference from then to now was that she missing her gym bag, but more importantly, she had a chain proceeding out of her chest. Ichigo stared at her, not comprehending what his sister just told him.

"K-Karin...what…?" This wasn't happening, this couldn't be happening.

Karin shrugged, looking down at the ground. "There was a hollow hunting down the spirit of some kid. I tried to help him get away, but I ended up tripping and falling into the road. Then, well, a car came along seeing as those travel by roadway?" Karin asked rhetorically, crossing her arms over her chest. She looked back up at Ichigo, but he wasn't looking back at her. Instead, his eyes were locked onto Karin's newly formed chains.

 _Don't tell Dad, but I kinda died_. Her words echoed throughout his unsettled mind.

"Before you start freaking out and blaming yourself, It's not your fault. it's mine. I should had just ditched those dumb flats and then helped the kid." The darked haired woman said, taking a step forward. Ichigo wasn't compreheading what was going on.

"Ichigo, I need you to go to the cops and I.D. my body.."

 _Don't tell Dad, but I kinda died_. _Don't tell Dad, but I kinda died_. _Don't tell Dad, but I kinda died_.

Ichigo didn't say anything. Karin was really dead.

"Ichigo?" Karin asked, taking another step towards her brother. He looked like he was going to break down.

"Ichigo, look at me!" The raven haired girl snapped.

Ichigo instinctively looked up. "Y-yeah, I...I can do that." Ichigo replied softly, taking his time to look at his sister's face. "But...what the hell am I going to tell Yuzu and the others?"

Karin sighed softly, frowning. "I died. You can't hide that from them."

"But what if I got you a body? Kisuke could make a gigai-"

"Ichigo, please stop making this harder than it needs to be." Ichigo froze at his sister's words. He quickly came to the cold reality of just how selfish he was acting. He realized that Karin already accepted her fate.

"So, what now, Karin?"

Karin blinked a couple of times, rubbing at her eyes. Ichigo could tell she was keeping back tears, hell, he was too. His throat was tight and his stomach was all knotted up. His heart felt like the day it rained, the day that on June 17th all those years ago.

Now May 28th was another one of those days.

Karin looked up at him smiling. "You gotta go tell the cops who the body belongs to, then you need to go home and tell Dad, Orihime, Yuzu...and then Kazui. Be there for them, don't get all depressed, okay?" She requested warmly. "Tell them not to be sad because I'm dead."

Ichigo nodded, looking at Karin. "...Then what?" He asked, putting his hands into his pocket, gripping his pass. He stared at Karin, studying her face, memorizing each detail. Her dark locks framed her pale face, with one lock swept over her forehead. Her deep, dark eyes looked strong, but they had a sad light in them. Ichigo watched the muscles in his sister's neck flex as she swallowed her emotions.

Karin shrugged, looking at the ground. "I guess I go to the Soul Society?" She asked innocently, digging the toe of her shoe into the green grass.

There was a really long pause between the two of them. Ichigo was clearly thinking things over, which Karin didn't like. "Ichigo, if I stay here, then I'm going to turn into one of those monsters. I know what happens, I've seen everything already!" She pointed out, standing up straight.

"No, you haven't." Ichigo replied, taking his soul reaper pass out of his pocket and pressing it against his chest. Karin watched her brother's soul and body split apart, becoming two different entities. Without a soul in his body, the empty body of Ichigo fell to the ground. The soul of Ichigo Kurosaki stood in front of Karin, tall and wearing a shihakusho. A sword that looked almost like a ginormous kitchen knife was strapped to his back. He unsheathed his sword, letting the flat part of his rest against his shoulder. The wrapped hilt of it began to glow a soft blue color. His sister gazed at the glowing with curiosity but also caution.

"If I press this against your forehead, you'll go to Soul Society." Ichigo explained, not looking happy. "But if I do that, you forget everything. You forget Karakura Town, Yuzu, me, Dad, everything and everyone you once loved and knew."

Karin's eyes widened, a sudden wave of understanding washing over her.

"I don't want to forget you!" She cried out, taking a step back. Ichigo nodded, agreeing as the glow died out and he sheathed his sword. "There has to be another way!" Karin pleaded.

"There is another way."

Karin and Ichigo turned to the newcomer, Ichigo sliding over in front of Karin. Karin stared at the shinigami who stood before them. "Kisuke?"

Two men and a woman stood before the two souls of Kurosaki's. The woman had beautiful mocha skin and cat-like orange/gold eyes. Her hair was the color of fresh grapes. She was tall, slender, and muscular. Yoruichi Shinoin, as always, was as radiant as a princess.

The first man was the one who had spoken. He was even taller than the woman was. He wore green and black robes and wore the usual hat he always had. He leaned his weight onto a wooden cane as he stood there smirking at the spirits. Kisuke Urahara's brown eyes watched from underneath the shadow of his hat at Ichigo and Karin.

The last one was the shortest of the trio. He was a shinigami with porcupine-like, snow white hair. Even though he was shorter than the first two, he stood taller than the last time Karin saw him. He still didn't quite look old enough to be an adult, but he certainly didn't look like an elementary schooler anymore. His hair had gotten a little longer, so it was brushed out of the way to the side, revealing that his blue eyes were still as cold as ever. Hyorinmaru must have grown with him because the sword still looked to be a little too long for Toshiro Hitsugaya to wield.

"What are you doing here?" Ichigo asked in a rough tone, clearly not in the mood for catching up with any of the three who appeared before him.

"I'm here because a little more than an hour ago, the 12th division found an unusually strong reiatsu signature in Karakura Town, one that they haven't recorded before." The Captain of Squad 10 started. "Kisuke, Yoruichi, and myself were tracking down one of the strongest of the unknown sources of spiritual pressure. It appears we found it."

"Did you come here alone? From Soul Society?" Ichigo asked, stepping between the group of shinigami and his sister. He was mostly worried about Toshiro trying a Konso, and he wasn't ready to let his sister go yet.

"I am here along with my Lieutenant."

"Who is nowhere to be found, of course." Ichigo commented with a cocky smirk. Rangiku Matsumoto always slacked off, especially when it came to trips to the World of the Living. To her, these trips were just 24/7 shopping trips and chances to eat Orihime's strange cooking. Toshiro's cold stare switched from the Soul Society's savior to his sister.

"That's not the point." Toshiro replied snappily, sounding as annoyed as he looked. He glanced at Karin, frowning. "I'm sorry for what happened to you." He said, unsheathing his sword.

Ichigo quickly reached for his own, holding an arm out protectively in front of a stunned Karin. "Toshiro, wait a second, don't do a konso-"

"Don't question my tactics, Kurosaki." Toshiro snapped at Ichigo, thrusting his sword into the air. His blade looked as if it made contact with some invisible beast, the blade itself disappearing into the body. He twisted his hand to the right as if he was using his sword as a key to open something.

Karin watched as two fancy, but old fashioned, doors open in front of her. They looked like they were from those expensive 5 star hotels in big cities.

"Captain Hitsugaya and Yoruichi here are going to escort Miss. Kurosaki to the Soul Society~!" Kisuke stepped in gleefully, whipping out his fan and moved it throughout the air as he spoke. "Without the use of a konso, there's a very high chance Karin will keep all of her memories when she crosses over into the land of the dead."

"I'm going with you." Ichigo ordered, stepping forward. "I don't want Karin going into the Dangai without me." There was a lighthearted chiming that contrasted with what was going on as the doors opened. A pair of black butterflies popped out into the World of the Living. Karin observed the curious little insects, keeping her gaze away from her brother.

Toshiro open his mouth to say something, but Karin spoke first. "No, Ichigo, you have to stay here." She said. Ichigo froze and looked back at his little sister. Karin still watched the butterflies, swallowing hard. "You have to go identify my body. I really don't want Yuzu have to, or dad, OR you for that matter. But someone's going to have to do it, and I don't think Dad could handle it." She explained, a shadow overcasting her face.

"Not again."

"...Karin…" Ichigo whispered, looking at her. Kisuke opened his fan and looked over at Yoruichi. Toshiro couldn't help but turn away. Yoruichi crossed her arms. They trying to give the siblings as much privacy as he could.

"Just, just be a good big brother and son for them, alright?" Karin asked, looking back at Ichigo. "And don't forget about Kazui and Orihime, they're not going to be jumping for joy either."

Ichigo took a deep breath, looking back at the soul reapers.

"She'll be okay, Ichigo." Yoruichi replied with a smile. "I'll stay with Karin in Soul Society until she settles in."

Ichigo sighed a second time, thinking about what was going to happen. He gave in and nodded slowly. "Fine, fine. I'll let your plan play out. But under one condition." Ichigo replied, turning to Karin.

Karin smiled at the strawberry, nodding. "Name it."

"Don't become a Soul Reaper."

There was an awkward silence as Karin stared at her brother as her eyes became wide. She wasn't quiet expecting him to say something like that, but she had never seen Ichigo this serious before.

"At least, not yet." Ichigo reluctantly corrected himself as he smirked. "Just don't do anything brash, okay?"

Karin and Ichigo looked at each other silently for a few moments. Karin thought about it, but couldn't help but laugh, which caused Ichigo to laugh. Ichigo bent down and embraced his sister for what felt like would be the last time. Karin gave her brother an even tighter squeeze. "I'll okay, I promise." She whispered in his ear. "Just make sure the rest of our family is okay." Ichigo nodded his head as the two hugged for a moment more before Karin kissed his cheek good-bye and moved away. She walked over to the entrance of the senkaimon, where Yoruichi, Toshiro, and the two hell butterflies met her. "I'll see you later." Karin called to Ichigo, a very quiet smile on her lips.

"Yeah, I'll come visit real soon."

"Take care of them, Ichigo." Karin repeated, her eyes looking like they were about to release some water petals.

"I will." Ichigo replied, looking at white haired captain of Squad 10. "Promise me you'll look after her, Toshiro. After Yoruichi leaves."

Toshiro clearly wasn't happy with they way Ichigo addressed him, but he didn't correct the substitute shinigami. "You have my word." He replied truthfully, crossing his arms.

Ichigo nodded and then returned to his body. Human Ichigo Kurosaki looked one last time at the ghost of Karin Kurosaki one last time. He didn't say anything else before walking away. "Kisuke, walk with me."

"Sure thing~ I'm sure you have all kinds of questions that I am here to answer!" The meek shopkeeper replied as he followed Ichigo.

Karin watched the two grow smaller and smaller as they moved farther and farther away. When they was out of sight, she turned to the Goddess and the Captain, her hands on her hips. "Long time no see, Toshiro." She greeted coolly, smiling.

Toshiro reached into the sleeve of his shihakusho and pulled out his soul phone. He began typing out a text message. "It hasn't been that long, Karin. It's been less than fifteen years."

Karin looked at him, unamused. "Ooooh, so you're a funny boy now, huh?" She asked, staring at his with a bored look. Toshiro shrugged, sending his text.

"No, that's your brother's job."

The recently-deceased girl opened her mouth to say something snippy, but Toshiro's phone starting ringing. Yoruichi snickered at them moving over to Karin and pinching the chub of her cheek. "Oh, you are so cute when you try to flirt~!"

"Hitsugaya." Captain answered, speaking into the phone as Karin swiped Yoruichi's hand away, griping about how flirting wasn't her intent and Yoruichi knew it.

"CAAAAPTAAAIN~! Do we really have to leave now?" Both Karin and Yoruichi could hear Rangiku's lazy complaining all the way from where they were standing.

Toshiro's eye twitched. "Matsumoto, get your sorry butt here NOW. I've already opened the senkaimon and we will not wait for you any longer."

"But Captain~!"

"MATSUMOTO! That is an order!" Toshiro yelled into the phone before the lieutenant hung up. "How is she still my vice captain…?" He muttered to himself as he put his soul phone back out of sight. Karin snickered, causing Toshiro to look at her.

"You two haven't changed a bit." She commented, crossing her arms over her chest, her wrist causing her chain links to jingle.

"How so?" Toshiro mused, raising an eyebrow as he put his phone away.

"She's still a bubble head, you still act like an elementary schooler." Karin pointed out, looking over at some bushes to her right, hearing Yoruichi snicker behind her.

A vein pulsed in Toshiro's temple, his teeth clenched.

"I, am not, a LITTLE KID!"


	3. Into the Dangai We Go

Karin didn't give Rangiku enough credit. The woman could move when she really needed to. Toshiro, Yoruichi, and Karin were only waiting through about fifteen minutes of absolute silence before Rangiku got there.

The busty, blonde woman was carrying a couple shopping bags with her. She had already ditched her gigai and was wearing her soul reaper uniform, which of course was open in the front. She still wore the lieutenant badge around her bicep. There was a slit cut unto her right pant-leg, revealing her silky, light skin. "Captain, I'm here~!" She called lightheartedly before her purple-blue eyes fell on Karin.

"Yo." The Kurosaki greeted smuggly. Rangiku stared at her with sad eyes.

"Oh, Karin…" The Lieutenant murmured sadly, one of her hands covering her mouth in surprise.

Karin quickly shrugged off Rangiku's pity. "It was going to happen at some point."

Rangiku glanced at her captain but Toshiro gave her a look, silently ordering her to let it go. A third butterfly flew out of the gate. The pair of wings flew over the trio. "Let's get going, then." Toshiro said, turning for the senkaimon. The paper doors opened and Toshiro started to step through. "Karin, stay close to us." Yoruichi ordered Karin before stepping through into the white glow.

Karin looked behind her towards the way her house was. "Sure," She replied turning back to the doors, Rangiku following into the senkaimon after Karin, "What exactly is the Dangai?"

Karin's first impression of the dangai was of how unsettling the terrain was, but the path looked worse than it actually was. Karin thought she was going to have to move through the purple goo like she was trekking through mud, but to her surprise it wasn't goo at all. The substance solidified where ever the four spirits walking, allowing a clear path to the Soul Society.

"Soooo, not to be annoying or anything, but how long til' we get there?" Karin asked. Yoruichi looked back at the girl with a toothy grin. "It'll only be just a couple minutes longer. We're getting close."

"Okay." Karin simply replied, looking forward. One of the little black butterflies whimsically flew past her face, catching her attention. "Hey, what even are those things, anyway?" She asked anyone, but found herself looking at Toshiro.

Now that she was actually looking at him with a clear head, she realized that he looked a bit different. His white hair was styled to the left side of his face, slightly covering his eyes. His hair seemed to be a bit longer. It looked little less spiky and styled and fell in more natural ways.

Karin guessed he upgraded in hair products or ditched hair gel.

He also was a bit taller. Even though Karin was about 5.5", Toshiro stood no more than inch taller than Karin, and that was being generous. And then he just physically…looked older. He no longer longer looked so much like a little kid, but like a young adult. He didn't look as old as she did, and certainly not as old as Papa Ichigo. With boys, it's always hard to tell how old they are. They could be in ninth grade and still look like they're ten.

On the other hand, Toshiro was dead and was probably hundreds of years old. And he _still_ was short for his age.

Karin's thoughts were broken when she heard the captain snap at her. "Why are you staring, Karin?" Karin scoffed, crossing her arms and turning away.

"I was spacing out, jeez." She said, blankly, forgetting how snippy he could be some times.

Toshiro sighed. "So then you didn't hear what I said, then." He stated, not looking back at her. A black swallowtail butterfly hovered above his head. Another one lead Rangiku through the Dangai. The third one now occupied the space above Yoruichi. "Why bother asking so many questions if you are not even going to listen to the answers?"

"Now, now, Captain, no need to be so **cold**." Yoruichi commented, pun all-too-clearly intended, as she sent him a toothy grin. "Karin has gone through quite a lot today, you know~!"

"They're called Hell butterflies." The blonde woman with lilac eyes said, winking at Karin. She had short hair that outlined her shoulders. She had a beauty mark just underneath her full lips. Rangiku seemed to mature more than Toshiro did over the years. In Karin's eyes, she was basically an old lady at this point. "They're pretty, aren't they?" Rangiku asked Karin, patting Karin on the head, laughing.

"What are you doing?" Karin asked, looking up at Rangiku, confused and upset. She flailed her arms around, trying to knock Rangiku's hand away. "Cut it out, damn it!" Rangiku continued to pat Karin's head, giggling.

"Oh little Miss. Kurosaki~! You are just the cuuutest thing~?"

"What is it with you women and touching me today?!"

"Just ignore her, Karin," Toshiro advised, continuing to walk down the dark path, "and stay close, stop falling behind. This isn't a place where you want to get separated from us." Karin turned to Toshiro, his face a little bit red from either blushing from embarrassment or anger. Or both. Both was probably it.

Karin was getting a little tired of Toshiro's sour attitude. It was easy to forget about what a pain Toshiro could be when you hadn't seen him in twelve years. She caught Yoruichi's orange gaze and smirked mischievously. Yoruichi returned Karin's look and nodded.

Suddenly, two figures zoomed by the unsuspecting Captain and Lieutenant. Rangiku was so surprised that she almost dropped her half dozen shopping bags. Toshiro snapped his head started running, leaving Rangiku in the dust. "Hey!" He shouted, "I said stay behind me! You don't know where you're going!"

Toshiro quickly caught up with Karin and ran by her, making sure he was in front of her. "You idiot, are you trying to get lost? You don't have a hell butterfly to lead you through here!"

Karin shot him a hot gaze, almost making Toshiro feel like he just woke a devil. "Don't worry about me, " she started, taking a huge gulp of air, "I'm following Yoruichi, or else I'm going to be 'falling behind'." She quoted.

Toshiro instantly felt a pang of regret of his poor word choice. Karin instantly found a way to throw his words right back at him. He forgot what a pain she could be in the last twelve years.

Rangiku stumbled behind them, juggling her bags as she trotted towards them.

"Can we slow down a bit, Captain? These bags are kind of heavy!" Rangiku complained, struggling to keep up.

"We are almost there, Lieutenant Matsumoto." Yoruichi called from the front, seeing the exit ahead. "We're in the home stretch."

Toshiro looked back at his Lieutenant, frowning. His icy blue eyes fell on a bright, golden light that broke through the darkness behind her. Was he seeing the Cleaner?!

"What the…?" Toshiro's gaze fell on Karin. Did the 12th not authenticate her passing through the dangai? His eyes snapped back to Rangiku, the cleaner closing in on her tail.

"Rangiku!" The Captain shouted. "Drop your shopping bags and move at full speed ahead!" He ordered, strongly.

Rangiku shook her head. "NO! These dresses are much too cute to leave to the Cleaner to destroy!" She yelled back. "We don't have this kind of fashion in Soul Society!" The blonde could feel a presence pulling her back into the dangai.

"Karin, keep moving forward!" Yoruichi called to the young woman."Let Captain Hitsugaya handle his Lieutenant!"

"Y-yeah!" Karin shouted back and kept on towards the exit, looking over her shoulder. She couldn't help but feel like Toshiro was going to be able to sway the simple-minded Rangiku.

"Lieutenant, **that's an order**!" Toshiro shouted, slowing down slightly. " _ **Drop them**_!" He prepared to turn around and get his subordinate out of there.

Karin grit her teeth, she had enough of this stupid stubbornness. She pivoted her weight, ignoring both the objections from Yoruichi and Toshiro's, and sprinted back to Rangiku, she ripped several of the shopping bags out of Rangiku's hands, causing them all to drop to the ground. The mass of gifts became the Cleaner's next meal as it sucked them into the big yellow ball of light.

"No!" Rangiku shouted, heartbroken as she watched the bright light inhale her precious souvenirs. However with the lack of the extra weight, she ran much faster.. "But those dresses, those outfits…! They were soooo cute…!" She whined, reminding Karin of a snotty two-year-old.

"Get your ass in gear!" Karin shouted, suddenly behind Rangiku. She gave the woman a strong kick in the back, sending Rangiku flying towards the exit. The ground suddenly turned gooey, like slime, causing Karin to lose her footing and fall to the ground.

"SHIT!" The ebony-haired girl swore, face planting for the second time that day. She tried to jump to her feet, stumbling over as she began to run again. She cried out as a strong force pulled her away from the opening.

"No, you bitch! Don't, you bitch! No, no, no, you bitch!" Karin shrieked as she tried to move her legs as fast as she could. She reached out towards the exit, her mouth gaping in resistance. The goo surrounding her close in like ocean waves during a storm. She was going to die two times in one day, wasn't she?

Oh, fuck her life.

Karin cried out as someone grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the purple goo. She found herself coiled up in one of Toshiro's arms, her weight being pushed against his side. She looked up at him with wide eyes as she felt their combined weight leave the ground. Their surroundings seemed to turn black and white and blur together like they were in a blending machine. Toshiro must had flash stepped.

Suddenly, they were in the piercing, bright daylight in a place that Karin didn't recognize.

"You, IDIOT!" Toshiro scolded Karin. "Why the HELL would you put yourself in danger like that!?" He yelled at her, letting her drop to the ground. Karin fell on her butt and winced and his harsh tone. She looked up at Toshiro with a glare that matched his temper.

"HEY! If I didn't do something, your Lieutenant would be wherever her silly ass shopping bags are now!" She bellowed back at him as Yoruichi held out a hand to help her up. Karin ignored it and stood up on her own, but instantly felt bad about being rude. She didn't want any more help than she was already getting.

Karin opened her mouth to shout even more, but only screams of utter pain pretured.

" _Karin_!" Yoruichi, Rangiku, and Toshiro cried in unison as the girl fell back to her knees. Her back arched backwards like she was being possessed by a demon in crappy early 2000's horror movie. Her teeth were barred towards the sky as nothing but tortuous shrieks filled the air.

"You, go get the 4th here!" Toshiro ordered a pair of gatekeepers. " _Now_!"

The chain on Karin's chest lifted into the air as black and red flames engulfed her body. Nothing but anguish-filled cries left her mouth as her dark irises rolled back into her head. Her fingers curled up into claws as her long hair fell out of its ponytail and raised towards the sky.

Karin felt like her body was being burned away with Greek fire and disentergrading away into nothing. Dying didn't hurt this bad. She couldn't have even imagined pain like _this_.

"Her spiritual pressure…!" Rangiku cried, her eyes widening as she reached for her zanpakuto, Haineko.

"It feels like a Hollow's than a Whole's." Yoruichi put into words for Rangiku. She glanced at Toshiro, noticing his eyes were glued on Karin as his hand reached for Hyorinmaru.

"Look at her chain." Toshiro commented, his eyes trained on Karin. Her screams were utterly bloodcurdling. But sure enough, the chains that hung from Karin's chest were disappearing into dust and blowing way with the red and black flames that surrounded her.

The pace the chains' speed of melting away at increased until there was nothing left than a hole in her chest. Karin screamed one last time before falling forward on her stomach, her eyes closed. Her hair sprawled out on the ground all around her, like a shawl over a dead body.

Rangiku stepped forward to help Karin, but Toshiro held his hand out, signaling for her to wait. He unsheathed Hyorinmaru and moved closer to the unconscious soul. With his blade ready, he turned Karin over.

"The hole…" Yoruichi started, her eyes wide. "...It's gone! And her spiritual pressure is back to a normal spirit's." The Flash goddess exclaimed. What was going on?

"Not quite," Toshiro replied, sheathing Hyorinmaru. "You sense it, right? Not just the power behind her reiatsu, but something else as well..." He propped Karin up into a sitting position against him and checked her pulse, just to make sure she was alright.

Karin's head rolled to the side, her ear brushing against his black kimono. Her eyes were still closed with still lids. Her lips were slightly parted as her now-matted hair framed her face. Sweat sparkled like tiny jewels all over her face and neck. Her cheeks had a feverish red-tint to her usually pale complexion.

Both Rangiku and Yoruichi came over to the crouching Toshiro and watched Karin's face. "She looks like she's been through hell." Rangiku muttered as the 4th division arrived at the scene.

"I'm sure this isn't how she planned her day would go when she woke up this morning." Yoruichi replied as she got out of the 4th's way. Toshiro handed Karin over to the healers and they gingerly placed her on a stretcher. Rangiku could have sworn there was a split second of hesitation from her Captain to let Karin go, but the Lieutenant most likely was just imagining it.

The trio watched Karin be taken away back towards the 4th's barracks. "No, Rangiku," Toshiro agreed, crossing his arms as he closed his eyes, "I'm sure Karin wasn't planning for her day to go like this."


	4. Please Awake Me

Oh, God. What happen? Did Karin accidentally drink too much again? Was she hung over? That's what this felt like. 'Cept it was also mixed with spot of death.

The dark haired girl hissed as she opened her eyes, the bright, morning sun like burning her unprepared eyes. Everything was fuzzy, Karin couldn't see clearly, like she was looking through a thick veil. Her lips parted as she sucked in a long, drag of air. She tried to push herself up into a sitting position, but her body would not couroparate. She wanted to say something, to at least make some sort of noise, but her vocal cords would not comply with her wishes either. What vision she had was spinning like a ballerina on stage. She felt like she was going to lose the contents, if any, in her stomach at any given moment.

"...Are you sure?" She heard a familiar female voice say. "Her spiritual pressure was really one of a hollow?"

"That's what I said." She heard Yoruichi's voice say. "But it disappeared as soon as her hole sealed itself up. Her spiritual pressure now is one of a spirit's, but Captain Hitsugaya sensed a whiff something else for a moment that I didn't catch."

"Her vitals are normal, she not injured in anyway. She's just needs lots of rest." A third female voice said. Karin didn't recognize this one.

"Should we tell Ichigo what happened?" The first voice questioned. Karin felt like she needed to close her eyes again, but she didn't want to. Sleep was tugging at her arm.

"No. His family knows what happened to Karin, at least they're aware that she's dead. They're preparing for her funeral in a few days. We should...give them time to process what happened, including Ichigo." Yoruichi strongly suggested. Then there was silence.

"Ichigo isn't going to like us keeping secrets from him." The first voice commented. Karin couldn't help but close her eyes. Her head hurt so bad. She heard footsteps from far away come closer to her bed.

"But I guess it's necessary."

Sleep once again whisked Karin back into it's deep, black depths. She didn't dream of anything, nor did she really feel anything at this point. The seconds slowly dragged themselves by. She didn't know what time or day it was. She didn't know what was happening around her or what was going on. She didn't know where she was.

Was she in limbo? No, that would make way too much sense, so that couldn't be it.

Karin felt herself drift through the endless waves of darkness. She felt like Alice in Wonderland, nothing but crazy shit happening all around her that made no sense. There were too many feelings, too many inconsistencies.

What the fuck was going on?

What was going to happen?

What about her family?

She vaguely remembered a conversation from another dimension about what was going on with the Kurosaki's. A picture of her golden sister flashed before her sleeping eyes.

 _Yuzu._

 _What about Yuzu?_

 _Yuzu_. Her whispers echoed throughout the pitch black fabric of existence.

"Yuzu!" Karin shouted as her eyes snapped open, feeling a sudden panic take over."YUZU!" She howled in an even more desperate tone.

"YUZU!" Karin repeated as she snapped up in her bed, ignoring the pain in her head. "Yuzu!" Karin didn't know where she was, but it was some sort of hospital. A white craze framed her vision as she momentarily glanced at her surroundings. She ripped the tubes and wires away from her arms, thin ribbons of blood glistened down her pale forearms.

Karin didn't even comprehend the soul reapers coming to her room. She didn't realizing that she was pushing them away from her rather forcefully. She didn't understand that she just shoved someone so hard against the wall, they cracked it.

What was going on?

Why was this happening?

Where was Yuzu?

"Someone, sedate her!" A woman with silver hair cried from the doorway. "She's going to hurt herself!" The woman donned a white captain's haori that was lined with pastel-pink silk. Her hair was styled with a few beads.

Captain Isane Kotestsu of Squad 4 watched as her healers fought against a craized Karin, they were struggling too much with Karin's random movements. "Everyone, stand back!" She cried as she held out her hands. "Bakudo Number 1: Sai!" She cried as Karin instantly froze. Her arms locked themselves behind her back, but it did not stop her from hollering her sister's names.

Everyone in the room stepped back from Karin, many of them catching their breath. The one Karin threw against the wall got to his feet as another squad member came over to help them. Isane came closer to Karin, watching her with soft, brown eyes. "Miss. Kurosaki, you are safe. Your sister is alright, you're going to be okay. I need you to calm down." She murmured melodically.

Karin blinked a few times, gasping for breath. She looked like an untrained stallion who was just captured and tied up: there was almost no controlling her.

"Miss. Kurosaki, please, we wish to help. Take a few more deep breaths, you're in Soul Society." Isane continued, placing her hands on Karin's shoulders. To the very least, Karin was no longer screaming bloody murder. "You've been asleep for three days."

Karin squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head, taking in what was going on. "Y-Yuzu…!" She whispered as she opened her eyes once again and looked around the room. She looked up at Isane. "W-who are you?" She asked in a daze, feeling her heartbeat settle.

Isane smiled kindly at Karin. "I am Captain Kotestsu of Squad 4. I know your brother, but I have not met you yet. It is nice to meet you, Miss. Kurosaki." She introduced herself.

Both Karin and Isane looked to the door as someone knocked. Isane smiled even brighter. "Ah, but here is someone you know!" She gleefully chimmed as she released Karin from the bakudo. Karin stood up from the ground. "Please, come in, Captain!" She called.

Karin's eyes widened with hope as the door opened, her heart skipping a beat. _Finally_ , someone she recognized.

A shorter Captain stepped into the room, their arms crossed and a smirk on their lips. Yoruichi stood behind then with a sly grin. "Did you have a nice nap, Karin?" The newly appointed Captain of Squad 13 asked.

"Rukia!" Karin cried as she rushed over to the long haired woman. The two embraced as Rukia laughed. "It's good to see you again, even though the reason why you're here wasn't ideal." Captain Kuchiki said, patting Karin's head. "I'm sorry about what happened."

Karin shrugged, smiling as she backed away from her close family friend. "It's not like could have done anything to stop it." Karin replied quickly before looking back to Isane. "...sorry about causing such a mess." She apologized awkwardly, sheepishly shrugging.

The Captain of the 4th nodded and smiled. "It's all quiet understandable. But you are in good healthy, so you are free to leave whenever you wish to."

Karin blinked, standing up straight. "Wait, are you serious? Just like that?" She asked, confused by how easy this suddenly was becoming. No tricks or tests or traps?

Isane nodded. Rukia put her hand on Karin's shoulder. "My people have set up a room for you back at the 13th's barracks. You can stay with us as long as you want to." She explained in such a motherly tone. It was easy to forget that Rukia actually was a mom seeing as Karin had seen the Abarai daughter only a handful of times.

Karin sighed and smiled. "Okay, sounds good." She replied.

"I'll be sticking around for a few days as well, Karin, but then I'm going to head back to Kisuke's, alright?" Yoruichi asked, her arms crossed over her chest. Karin nodded.

"Sure thing, but uhh…" Karin mumbled, trying to think of what to say, "...what happens now?"

"Now," Yoruichi started with a mischievous glint sparkled in her eye, "you train to become a soul reaper."

Karin's jaw dropped to the floor. "Y-you can't be serious!" She cried. The Goddess of the Flash was THERE when Ichigo said that he didn't like the idea of Karin becoming a soul reaper. Karin _herself_ wasn't in love with thought of becoming one!

"Oh, we're very serious." Rukia replied, also crossing her arms. "Someone like you, a Kurosaki no less-"

"-the FUCK is that 'posed to mean-?"

"-and if you're anything like your brother, you need training right away!" Rukia cheered, pointing right at Karin. "You have a very high spiritual pressure, so you need to be careful or you might attract hollows to the Seireitei. But don't worry about them, we're more worried about Kenpachi targeting you-!"

"-the fuck is a 'Kenpachi'-?"

"-So you need to become a soul reaper and learn how to control yourself or else bad things could happen." Yoruichi summed up for Rukia. The Captain looked at the ex-Captain with an excited gaze.

"Yes, that!" Rukia cried, patting Karin on the back. Karin forgot what a bubble head Rukia could be when she got excited. Karin was more worried about the reason why Rukia was so excited.

Karin was Rukia's next toy, just like what Ichigo was all of those years ago.

"Do I have a say in any of this?" Karin asked as Isane and the other Squad 4 members finished cleaning up the room and left.

" _Nope_ ~!" Both Yoruichi and Rukia chirped in unison. "Alrighty, let's go get you settled into the 13th! We can discuss this matter more, there." Rukia explained as she took Karin by the wrist and lead her through the 4th.

Karin glanced at the now-dried blood on her wrist. She looked over herself and scowled. She was wearing a simple, white kimono. The clothes that she died in were gone, but so as the chain that once hung from her chest. Now that she thought about it, it was much easier to breath. She still had a little bit of a headache, but besides that she felt fine. She rubbed the dried blood onto her clothes and looked forward.

There weren't too many squad member moving around the 4th, most likely because they were with patients. But there was enough for Karin to notice how everyone was watching her. Karin made a mental note of that little detail.

She hated attention, even as a popular D1-soccer player. She was so good at soccer, that some people wondered if she would abandon her doctorate and just play soccer. She could have probably even gone to the Olympics for Japan if she wanted to.

But she didn't want to. She didn't want the attention. No muss no fuss.

The staring continued as Karin was led outside. Soul reapers just passing by glanced at Karin and then whispered among themselves as they moved on. "Hey, why is everyone staring at me like I'm not wearing anything?" Karin asked Rukia and Yoruichi. She was definitely out of the loop somehow.

"It's not everyday a soul who is not a shinigami comes to the Seireitei," Yoruichi started, "also, your family ties are common knowledge around these parts." She stated simply as the trio moved passed both the 5th's and the 6th's barracks.

"I don't even look that much like Ichigo, my hair is black." Karin pointed out, crossing her arms over her chest.

"It's not just Ichigo, Karin. It's your father as well." Yoruichi added, looking back at Karin. Karin didn't know, did she?

"My father?" Karin questioned, utterly confused for a moment before Yoruichi's hidden meaning started to sink in. Her eyes widening with surprise. "Wait, are you telling me-?"

"We can go more into detail when we get to my office, okay?" Rukia requested, watching Karin. Karin's dangerous gaze snapped up to the two, older women.

"You can't just mention something like that and then not explain it right away! This is HUGE!" Karin argued, stopping dead in her tracks. "You're going to have to drag me if you don't tell me, I'm not going anywhere." She knew she sounded like a brat, but this was unfair. Too many things had been happening to her that didn't have any explanation to it. If the Old Man was a soul reaper, like Yoruichi and Rukia were hinting at, then how was she even-

Karin felt her knees feel a little wobbly.

That's why she could see ghosts, that's why Ichigo could see spirits even before he became a soul reaper. Was Karin born part soul reaper? If that was so, what else did her family hide from her?

Rukia and Yoruichi watched Karin, frowning. "Come on, we'll explain it when we're not in the middle of morning traffic." Rukia said sweetly, holding her hand out. Karin looked up at Rukia, dark eyes meeting purple ones.

"What the hell is going on?" Karin asked, her voice quivering like a bunny's nose. Her expression pleaded for an answer. So much earth shattering information all at once. It was too much!

"Karin…" Rukia said as she moved forward to place a hand on Karin's shoulder. The taller, dark haired girl's defense mechanisms turned on and she instinctively stepped away.

Karin felt like she was losing her mind. What sort of Hell was this? "Just give me a second, I need to think about this." Karin explained, turning away from shinigami. She took a deep, shaky breath. She felt like she was going to have some sort of anxiety attack.

"Karin, your father was a Captain." Yoruichi explained, standing right behind the confused woman. Karin stood there, trembling. "In fact, he was Captain Hitsugaya's predecessor. At that time, he was known as Isshin Shiba."

"I'm not going to tell you anymore because that is a conversation for you and your father to have, not with me, not with Rukia, not with anyone else. Just you and your father." Yoruichi remarked. "But for now, let's just go get you settled in, okay? I know this is really hard for you."

It was 'really hard' for her? It was way more than that! So far, being dead was _devastating_. Karin wanted to lash out, she wanted to freak out and go back to sleep again. This just had to be one really long nightmare.

"Fine." Karin meekly replied as she wiggled out of Yoruichi's arms as she stared at the ground. "Let's go."


	5. Rude

The rest of the walk to Squad 13's barracks was in complete silence. There wasn't much more talking when they got there, either.

"And, this is where you can stay, Karin." Rukia said, introducing her to simple, but spacious, room. The walls were plain and the room was filled with some simple, red furniture. The bed had matching, crimson blankets. Karin could see a soccer ball peeking out of the corner. "Usually, this living space would be the Captain's quarters, but seeing as I live with my family at my brother's estate, it's just been going to waste."

"Thanks, Rukia," Karin replied with a seemingly sincere smile, "this is great!"

Rukia frowned at Karin's look, she recognized that smile. Karin, in many ways, was just like her brother. "I'm glad." The captain replied.

"CAAAAAPTAIN!" Someone shouted rather obnoxiously from down the hall, causing Karin and Rukia to jump. Yoruichi seemed to almost expect it.

Rukia whipped around as her gaze met with a taller man's. "What is it now, 3rd seat Kotsubaki?" Rukia asked, crossing her arms. Rukia didn't sound annoyed, but she certainly wasn't happy. Is this what it was to be a captain? Constantly bothered by your subordinates?

Karin could see that in Toshiro's case, it most certainly was.

"Head Captain Kyoraku is calling a Captain's meeting, Captain. I just thought you should know!"

"Ah, thank you. I'll be leaving very soon. How are the documents?"

"Almost all of them have been completed, however, many of them require your signature."

"Okay, thank you for filling them out for me. I will take care of the rest when I get back from the meeting." Rukia replied. She turned to Karin and Yoruichi. "Duty calls. I'll be back later tonight. Perhaps you two might like to have dinner at my Brother's tonight." Rukia threw out there before quickly leaving with her 3rd seat.

Yoruichi waved the good-bye with a toothy grin and shut the sliding door, turning to Karin. "You've been unusually quiet. Do you want to talk about something?" She asked, sitting on the floor by the bed, leaning her weight against the thin mattress.

Karin didn't move from where Rukia had left her. "Yoruichi, everything that's happened...I really don't know what to think right now." She reluctantly confessed. Her mind was swimming with confusing thoughts and feelings. So much had happened...

Yoruichi looked up at Karin with sympathetic eyes. She could understand what Karin was feeling. She knew the pain of having to leave her family and go live in a completely new world. Karin reminded Yoruichi of herself when she had to desert Soul Society and go to the World of the Living.

"It's a lot to think about. Lots of new facts have been thrown at you." Yoruichi replied, leaning forward as she rested her elbows on her knees. She held her hands together as her chin rested on the back of them. " _That_ , and your life is going to be completely different now."

Karin glanced at Yoruichi with a blank expression. "I know Ichigo and my Dad can get over it. My death, I mean. And Orihime and Kazui can see spirits, but my sister?" Karin briefly paused, thinking of how she wanted to word this. "When we were little kids, she could only see blurs instead of spirits, and only some of the time. But now that's she's older, she can't see them whatsoever. She doesn't even know Ichigo is a soul reaper! We've never really been apart before either, and-!" Karin cut herself off and looked away from the mocha woman.

"I'm just _really_ worried about Yuzu." Karin explained, rubbing the back of her neck. "I'm not sure what she's going to do without me." Her eyes traced the wooden panels beneath her feet.

"Are you giving yourself too much credit and slash or your sister not enough credit?" Yoruichi asked bluntly.

Karin was stunned to say the least. Her eyes widened as her attention snapped to Yoruichi. She wanted to say something, to say something vulgar, but she didn't. Yoruichi was wise, but the way she gave advice was brutal…

"...Do you think she'll be alright?" Karin asked Yoruichi, weakly. She stared at the ex-captain with wide, sad eyes.

Yoruichi was still for a moment, but then nodded. "I think she'll be quite alright after an adjustment period. A major death in the family always makes things hard for a little bit, but then the family comes together even stronger once they get through it. You should know that."

"When my Mom died," Karin began as she sat down in one of the chairs, "Yuzu was the only one to get her shit together. She stepped up. The Old Man was barely functioning. Ichigo was always running off to who knows where by himself. And I,"

Karin paused. She rarely thought about what happened back then, she could barely remember at this point. She just knew that it was the worst part of her life. "Never mind." She finished before leaning back in the chair, not wanting to reopen old wounds.

"...So, what about this soul reaper stuff?" Karin questioned, looking back down at Yoruichi, eagerly switching the subject. "And that if I don't become one, bad things could happen?"

"Rukia, myself, and a couple of other Captains chatted about what we should do with you while you were resting." Yoruichi informed, looking up at Karin with her cat-like gaze and a small smirk. "You have a high spiritual pressure, which was to be expected for someone born into a family like yours. However, those with high spiritual pressure who don't know how to control it attract hollows. A Hollow's favorite meal is a being with a reiatsu like yourself."

"And becoming a Shinigami will help me control it?" Karin asked, crossing her arms in the chair. If Ichigo found out about this, he wasn't going to be happy. But even Kazui was a Soul Reaper, at least some sort of Soul Reaper.

"Yes, the Academy can train you how to do so." Yoruichi answered. "But attracting Hollows isn't the only thing an unconcealed, high spiritual pressure can do. Sometimes it has effects on others around you or yourself."

"Like what?" Karin questioned. She knew she was asking lots of questions, but how else was she going to figure this stuff out?

"One Captain told the story of why he went to the Academy. Even though he didn't have Hyorinmaru yet, he was still getting dreams from a great, ice dragon. He couldn't control what he was doing when he slept, so he almost froze his Grandmother to death during one of these episodes."

"Toshiro!" Karin exclaimed. That had to be him. So, he wanted Karin to become a Shinigami, too? Was it because he was afraid Karin would do something like that?

Yoruichi nodded, as she got to her feet. She stretched out her long, muscular legs. "Well, that's the end of that story. Is there anything else you want to know?" She asked casually before patting her belly. "I'm getting rather hungry. Wanna to go grab something to eat?"

That was when Karin realized just how hungry she was. As if on cue, her stomach groaned with starvation. Had she not eaten in those past three days? "Uh, yeah, I could eat." She replied coolly, ignoring the fact that her stomach just made an embarrassingly loud noise.

Yoruichi smiled. "I'll give you a brief tour of the Seireitei as we go." Karin almost instantly made a face.

"But it seems so big, why don't we save that for later-" She started before she was lifted off the ground. Karin cried out in surprise. "Whoa, WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING, YORUICHI!?"

"I did say a 'brief' tour, Karin." Yoruichi pointed out, her expression almost evil. Torturing Karin was her intent all along! She held Karin up in a bridal style as Karin tried to wiggle and squirm out of Yoruichi's strong arms.

"Yoruichi, no." Karin hissed sternly, glaring daggers at the towering woman.

"Yoruichi, yes." Yoruichi chipped back, walking over the threshold and down the hall.

"Yoruichi, NO!" Karin cried with more feeling this time. Oh god, what crazy bullshit was going to happen to her this time?

"Yoruichi," She started as she stepped outside, "yes!" She called as she blasted off in a fit of speed. Karin yowled as the force of the wind pushed her back against Yoruichi's strong, bosom. She screamed a long, terrible string of dirty words.

"Here we see the Squad 13's Barracks, now we see Squad 12's, make a note to stay away from that one. The Captain there has already made it quite clear he wants to dissect you. Oh, and there's Squad 11's barracks. Make another note that they're nothing but barbarians and the Captain wants to fight you." Yoruichi explained like a flight attendant. She was clearly enjoying bothering Karin a little too much.

"THE SHITTING SHIT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE!?" Karin shouted, clutching to Yoruichi for dear life. Or dear death in this case.

"Good question that I don't have the answer for." Yoruichi replied to her experiment with a sly smirk. "Oh, look, it's the 10th~! I'm sure you'll be spending lots of time there, Hmmm~?"

"HELL, NO! Put me down, Woman! I don't want a seat on this crazy train!" Karin cried, briefly looking at the building until their surroundings blurred together again as Yoruichi flash stepped. They were moving so fast Karin felt like all of the moisture in her eyes was being ripped out of sight.

"Here's the 9th, the 8th, and the 7th. You want to go to that last one if you want a good time, but the 6th is the last place where you want to be if you want to have fun. Unless you challenge Little Byakuya Kuchiki to a game of tag~!" Yoruichi teased, looking down a the building with a mischievous light in her eyes.

Karin looked down and saw two people with red hair. One of them was really tall while the other was really small. "Two red pineapples." She manage to squeak until Yoruichi moved onto what was next.

"Here's the 5th, 4th, as you know, 3rd, and 2nd!" Yoruichi chimed, landing briefly before the Squad 2's Barracks. "We can't stay long 'cause the captain here borderline stalks me." And just like that, they flash stepped away.

Karin at this point was getting used to the movement of the flash steps, but she still wasn't happy with Yoruichi's tactics.

"And welcome to the Squad 1's barracks!" Yoruichi cheered as they landed on the roof of one of the buildings. She let Karin down and crossed her arms.

"Great." Karin shot back quickly, glaring up at Yoruichi. "But have you ever heard of giving someone a warning when you _kidnap_ them?" She asked in a blank tone, looking at Yoruichi like she was bored. "I trusted you." She added dramatically, but said it in such a way that she was purposely cheesily.

Yoruichi chuckled and reached out towards Karin, her pointer finger tapping Karin's chest. "Well, you're certainly not going to after this."

Wait, what?

Karin's eyes widened as Yoruichi applied pressure to her chest and pushed her back. Karin felt her weight fall back onto nothing. The wind roared on all sides of Karin's body, threatening to steal her simple kimono. Suddenly, Karin found herself falling headfirst towards the stone ground.

That son of a bitch just pushed her off a roof!

Karin didn't even scream. She should have expected something like this to happen. She was surrounded by crazy people here. She was in the land of the mentally insane. This was her life now.

The dark hair girl winced as she felt someone slam on the breaks. She suddenly was no longer falling. She was in someone's arms. Karin quivered as she looked up to see who's arms they were.

Her dark gaze met a crazy, toothy frown.

"Random girls raining down from the sky. Just another typical day in Soul Society." They said, looking down at their catch. "So, huh, who're ya, sweet cheeks?"

Karin found herself with at least twelve other pairs of eyes on her. She saw that Yoruichi was no longer standing on the roof.

"Fuck my life." Karin groaned, closing her eyes.


	6. Off to a Great Start

"Karin?!" Rukia cried, seeing the girl sitting in Captain Shinji Hirako of Squad 5's arms. "What the Hell do you think you're doing, you fool?" She asked as Shinji let the girl down.

"You know," Karin started blankly, her empty eyes moving over everyone around, "just losing my mind. The usual."

Rukia scoffed as she looked up from where Karin had fallen. "How did you even get up there?"

"A crazy women promised me food." Karin replied coolly, her gaze briefly stopping at Toshiro. He looked both shocked and something else, but Karin just rolled her eyes and looked back to Rukia, quickly forgetting his expression. "Am I interrupting something important…?"

"Who the fuck is this little shit?" The tallest, scariest looking on there asked, shoving past Rukia to get a good look at Karin. He bent down to eye level with Karin and stared right into her eyes. Karin stared right back into his, not afraid of some dude who thought he was tough shit. "And why does she feel like Ichigo?"

"She's Karin Kurosaki," A short woman wearing a golden sash around her waist replied. "Ichigo Kurosaki's younger sister."

"Oh, so she's the one we were just talking about." A tall, muscular man with silver hair added. Karin wondered who stole his sleeves.

"Why, yes, she is." Another man with long, curly, dark brown hair casually answered as he stepped before everyone else. The big guy backed off and moved out of the way. "Welcome to Soul Society, Miss. Kurosaki. How are you enjoying your stay so far?"

"The welcome party kind of sucks." Karin complained, crossing her arms. "Also, just 'Karin' is fine." She felt like the whole 'Kurosaki' thing was going to cause problems for her, especially after what Yoruichi mentioned on the way to the 13th.

"Well, well, well, Little Lady. It's nice to meet you formally, Karin. I am Head Captain Kyoraku, but if we're being so informal, you can just call me Shunsui." He replied, his fingers adjusting the brim of his straw hat so Karin could see his eyes. Well, eye. He wore an eyepatch, just like the really big, rude guy.

"Nice to meet you, too." Karin replied simply, watching this guys. Something about him gave her the creeps. Maybe it was because of how sad he looked even though he was smiling.

"My new scientific material, hmmm?" A thing with yellow eyes asked. They wore black and white face paint and some strange blue and gold headdress. They were the stuff that fueled nightmares.

"No, Captain Kurotsuchi, Karin is a guest here until she figures out what she will like to do." Shunsui replied and a soft, scary smile.

"I disapprove of that notion, Head Captain. After all, I am sure we are all curious as to why it's reiatsu reacted the way that it did when it _illegally_ entered Soul Society. I'm sure I can quite easily figure out the cause with minimum injury to the test subject."

" _She_ would appreciate you not messing with _her_ biology." Karin spoke up, her rough expression facing the creep. "Please and thank you."

Mayuri Kurotsuchi grit their teeth, appalled by how this soul was talking to them. "Why, aren't you a rude little thing? I can run some tests to figure out the cause for your lack of manners as well-"

"That is quiet enough, from both of you." Shunsui said, stepping between Karin and Mayuri. "Let's all just go get some drinks and we'll all forget this little bump in the road, okay~?"

"Head Captain, that's not a good idea." A woman with glasses said from behind him. An older man with white hair with a dark streak nodded in agreement. Karin recognized that they both wore Lieutenant badges on their right bicep that had the same symbol. Were they both lieutenants of Squad 1?

"Awww, Nanao, you never let me have any fun~" Shunsui whined as the woman adjusted her glasses with her pointer finger. The glass lenses catch the afternoon sunlight in such a way that it made Nanao Ise look like she was about to vaporize the head captain with eye beams.

"Alright, alright," Shunsui moaned, looking back to Karin. "But before you leave and go fall off more buildings, I would like to meet with you in my office if at all possible. It'll be a quick chat, I promise."

"Uh, yeah. Sure." Karin replied as she let her arms fall to her sides. She realized once again how many eyes were on her. It was a gross feeling.

"The rest of you can go on your merry way, the meeting has already been dismissed so you're all free to go." Shunsui continued. Many of the captains politely bowed to the Head Captain before turning away. Rukia stuck around for a moment longer before a Captain with the kanji for 6 on his back led her away. "Oh, 'cept for Captain Hitsugaya. Can you stay back a moment, as well?" He requested.

"Yes, Head Captain." Toshiro replied, stepping forward next to Karin. Karin noticed that Hyorinmaru wasn't with him right now. In fact, none of the captains but Shunsui seemed to have zanpakuto with them. She wondered why that was.

"Perfect. Nanao, Genshiro, do you two mind escorting these two up to my office? I'm going to go have a brief conversation with Yoruichi." Shunsui finished with as he walked away from the small group. That was when Karin noticed Yoruichi leaning up against a building. Karin instantly felt a hot, bubbly sensation in the pit of her stomach. The beautiful woman looked up from her perch and made eye contact with Karin. She winked, held up a little peace sign, and stuck out her tongue.

Karin returned Yoruichi's hand symbol with one of her own: a peaceful flip of the middle finger. Yoruichi pushed Karin off a _building_ after all!

"Hey!"Karin snipped as she felt an elbow jab her in the side. She looked over at Toshiro with an unamused expression and scoffed.

"Don't put yourself in anymore trouble than you already have." Toshiro replied coolly, not looking at her.

Karin stuck out her lower lip and rolled her eyes. "Sure thing, Cap." She shot back sarcastically as she briefly flash the Goddess of the Flash two birds before letting her arms cross over her chest. She looked over at Nanao, who was shaking her head at Karin's reaction to Yoruichi, and Genshiro who was clearly unimpressed.

"Right this way, Captain Hitsugaya and Miss. Kurosaki." Genshiro stated as he and Nanao turned and lead them into Squad 1's barracks.

"Karin is fine." Karin repeated as she followed them. Toshiro sighed quietly, almost cringing at Karin's behavior in Squad 1's dwellings. He couldn't blame her too much, though. After all, she had only been in Soul Society for a few days. Most of that time, she was unconscious so she still had lots to learn.

* * *

There was an awkward ten minute silence before the Head Captain returned to his office. He sat behind a modest desk and his two Lieutenants stood behind him. Both Karin and Toshiro stood before the next, several inches apart.

There was a roof over their head, and a wall to the left of Karin with a single door. The wall to the right was nothing but open air, revealing a look out to all of the seireitei, including a rather large cliff that overlooked the land. This office as massive compared Rukia's captain's quarters. Karin wasn't frowning, but she certainly wasn't smiling when she realized Shunsui was watching her.

"You wanted to speak with us, Head Captain?" Toshiro reminded him.

"Why, yes. I did, didn't I?" Shunsui replied with a meek smile as he rested his elbows and hands on his desk. "After all, even though what Captain Kurotsuchi was mostly crap, he did make a point that Karin is here against the law."

"I will accept any punishment. Karin didn't understand that she was breaking any rules when she came here with me. It wouldn't be fair to give her punishment for doing something she didn't know was wrong."

Karin look at Toshiro with wide, moon-like eyes. Did Toshiro really break the law getting her here? Could he had been executed or something for helping her keep her memories?

Why would he take that risk for someone like her?

Shunsui's lips twisted into a big grin. "Oh, Captain Hitsugaya, always so SERIOUS when it comes to you. I often forget you were once someone who accepted mountains of candy from Jushiro." Karin noticed a slight tension in the air when that name was mentioned. "But, no, we're not here so someone gets some sort of punishment. I'm just trying to understand what happened once Karin here exited the Senkaimon without Captain Kurotsuchi's invasive, and usually deadly, tactics."

"With all due respect, I already briefed the other Captains and yourself at the meeting." Toshiro politely shot back. Karin expected her to be the gossip amongst the Captains, but it still didn't help her stomach settle with what was going on behind closed doors.

"Yes, I do understand where you're coming from. But, Karin wasn't at the meeting. I think her input on the subject would be pretty valuable. Don't you think so, Captain?" Shunsui asked, resting his head on one of his hands, his elbow digging into the desk.

Toshiro paused for a moment before nodding. "Yes, sir." He replied almost reluctantly.

Shunsui smiled almost triumphantly. "Alright, then. So Karin, is there anything you'd like to tell me about what happened when you came out of the Dangai?"

Toshiro looked at Karin through the side of his eyes. She looked tired, which was completely understandable. Her simple, white kimono, which she most likely received during her treatment at the 4th, had two thin lines of dried blood by her hip. He noticed that her bangs were styled almost messier than they had been when she was younger. Her hair was down, reaching just past her shoulder blades, which made her look older and wiser.

She had grown up wonderfully.

"Well," Karin unintelligently began, her arms still crossed over her chest, "I remember yelling at Toshiro for being a jerk, and then everything started to hurt. It felt like I was set on fire, I've never felt pain like that before. Even when I died."

The Head Captain chuckled at the little comment Karin made about the Captain of the 10th."And how did you die, if you don't mind me asking?" Shunsui asked, curious as to what Karin's story was.

"Long story short, there was the spirit of a kid being chased by one of those hollow-monster-things, so I was carrying him trying to help him get away, but I tripped into the road and got run over by a car." Karin babbled, grimacing when she remembered the kid.

"...I think I wasn't able to save him in the end…"

There was a moment of silence before someone said something. "So, obviously, you still have all of your memories from your life." Shunsui commented, leaning against the back of his chair. "Interesting."

"Karin, when you were in pain after you came here, did you hear any voices?" Shunsui asked, his lighthearted smiling disappearing.

"Uh, no?" Karin replied, making it sound like a question. "Should I have?" Shunsui obviously glanced at Toshiro, who shook his head.

"Like I said a the meeting, Head Captain. There was no mask. Only the spiritual pressure of a hollow." Toshiro calmly stated. Karin was lost, but she didn't want to read too much into between the lines.

"Hmmm….so it's more likely that she's not some sort of hybrid, like a Vizard." Shunsui concluded. Toshiro nodded.

"I believe that statement is correct."

"Well, then I guess we're almost all done here, then, huh?" The lazy looking man asked no one in particular. "But I do have one more question for Karin."

"Shoot." Karin offered, casually. Toshiro mentally slammed his head into a wall for her lax reaction.

"So now that you're here in Soul Society, what are your plans?" The Head Captain asked, bowing his head slightly so his hat masked his eyes.

"I'm going to become a Shinigami." Karin replied without any hesitation. She felt Genshiro's, Nanao's, Shunshui's, and finally, Toshiro's eyes glued to her when the words left her mouth.

"Why?" Shunsui calmly questioned, a small smile once again returning to his expression.

"Because…" Karin started, not really thinking this part through. She'd just have to wing it. "...I want to become a Soul Reaper, because apparently I have a strong spiritual pressure. I shouldn't just sit around for the rest of this life twiddling my thumbs while those monsters are out there eating kids, not when I can protect them."

Another uncomfortable silence settled over the room like a wet blanket. Karin instantly wanted to eat her words and forget she ever said anything. Too late now.

Shunsui's smiled grew like a sunflower in sunshine. "That is very honorable of you to say, Karin." He turned his head to the woman behind him. "Nanao, will you help set her up with papers for the academy? We can set her up for some private instruction until the summer semester starts."

"Of course, Head Captain." Nanao said as she approached the dark haired woman. "Come with me, Miss-"

"Karin."

"Yes, Karin." And with that, both of the women left the room.

"What a spitfire that one is." Shunsui commented as he watched his Lieutenant lead Karin away.

Toshiro knew the Head Captain was expecting him to say something, but all he did was bow politely, said good-bye, and left without a word.


	7. So, Training Sucks

"So this is what a shinigami-in-training wears?" Karin asked, curiously, looking into the single, long mirror in the Captain's quarters of Squad 13. It was a red undershirt with red hakama. The Kosode was snow white with red stripes down the arm. There were small, round, black symbols representing the Shino Academy on the breast. Karin felt like a Cosplayer, not a student.

"Sure is." Yoruichi replied, leaning over the back of the couch. "Ah, it brings back old memories seeing that uniform again. Right, Captain Kuchiki?"

"It certainly does." Rukia replied, sincerely. "It makes me think of when Renji was so foolish." She paused, blushed, and smirked. "Oh, wait. Not much has changed."

Yoruichi and Karin chuckled. "Now, now, Captain Kuchiki, that's not way to talk about your husband." Yoruichi teased, sticking out her tongue. Rukia shrugged and smiled.

"Well," Yoruichi yawned as she stood up, "I think it's time for me to go back to the World of the Living."

Karin's attention was ripped from the mirror and was now on the tallest person in the room. "You're leaving?" She asked, her heart sinking in her chest.

"You've been up and about for almost a week now. I think that's pretty settled in and I have other things to do." Yoruichi replied, shrugging Karin off. "But before I go, there's something you should know."

"What?" Karin asked, turning towards Yoruichi and crossing her arms. She wasn't ready for Yoruichi to leave, but she still had Rukia. She was also getting familiar with some of the other lieutenants and captains through Rukia, so she wasn't lonely. And then Ichika was around. Somewhere.

Yoruichi walked up to and then past Karin, towards the door. She patted her on the shoulder before whispering in her ear. "Just so you know, it was supposed to be Captain Hitsugaya who caught you when you fell of that building."

A vein in Karin's neck plused as her face turned bright red. "YOU MEAN AFTER YOU PUSHED ME OFF THAT ROOF!" Karin corrected, roughly, remembering how embarrassing and traumatizing that moment was.

"Oh, come on, Karin. It wasn't that bad. It's not like the time when your brother threw me off of an execution stand-" Rukia started in a lighthearted tone before she noticed Karin's strange look.

Karin's eyes darted to Rukia, a disgusting expression on her face. "Ichigo did _what_?" What the hell did Ichigo even _do_ around here?

"Oh, yeah! That was hilarious!" Yoruichi cried, letting a big laugh go. "The look on your face was the BEST!"

Rukia frowned as she turned to Yoruichi. Karin could swear the temperature in the room dropped at least five degrees.

Yoruichi continued to laugh. "And with that trip down memory lane, bye-bye~!" She called as she casually left the room, her purple ponytail training behind her like a speed trail.

Rukia giggled and shook her head. Karin had no idea what just happened. She then looked to Rukia, awaiting what was next in her life.

"So, what happens now?" Karin asked the Captain. Rukia replied with a sly smirk, which instantly put Karin on edge. Oh god, what had she gotten herself into.

"Oh darling daughter of mine~!" Rukia called out to the room.

There was a moment of silence and stillness. Nothing happened.

Karin stood there, blinking blankly. "...what was supposed to happen?" She mumbled, biting at the bait.

"Shh, just give it a second." Rukia replied quickly, hitting her fist against her other open palm. "My daughter is the best, Ichika always comes when I call!"

There were a few more awkward moments of nothing happening.

"I really don't think-" Karin started before a red blur smashed into her.

"AH, SHIT!" Karin cried, suddenly finding herself on the ground with a bloody nose.

"Punish the non-believer!" A little girl who looked to be no older than Kazui cried, standing on to of Karin's stomach. "I'm the best daughter ever! I always come when I'm called."

"Good job, Ichika, my most precious person in the world!" Rukia cried, holding her arms out as Ichika jumped into her mother's arms, laughing with a toothy grin.

"Don't teach her to do things like that! No wonder Ichigo always complains when you guys came to visit." Karin commented under her breath, holding her hurt nose in her hand. So much for a white, new uniform. It was now speckled with blood droplets.

Ichika was suddenly standing before Karin, her hands on her hips. She wore the tiniest soul reaper uniform that Karin had ever seen. Her red spikes were pulled back into a short, crazy ponytail with a sparkly, yellow ribbon. Obviously, her red hair was from Renji Abarai's side of the family. Her eyes looked like Rukia's, purple and beautiful. She had her zanpakuto strapped to her side. The golden guard was in the shape of a lightning bolt.

"Starting today, you are MY apperitence!" Ichika cried, unsheathing her sword and pointed it at a very confused and underwhelmed, bleeding Karin. Karin blinked, and then looked at Ichika, not taking her seriously.

"...are you sure about that?" Karin asked, looking over at Rukia. Rukia nodded energetically, gesturing to her spawn. Karin's dark eyes flipped back over to the little kid. She was dumbfounded. A little kid, who was the age of her nephew, was going to be her teacher?

As if reading her mind, Rukia held up her pointer finger, a stupidly excited expression on her face. "Ichika will be your teacher until you start classes at the Academy. If you work hard now, you might be able to complete the Academy sooner than six years!"

Karin's left eye twitched. "Is everyone in Soul Society stupid? I'm reminded again, and again, of how absolutely _ridiculous_ this place is." The Head Captain was a drunk, it was normal for people to fall off of buildings, and now her teacher was a tiny tot!?

"Quiet, you!" Ichika ordered as she hit Karin in the head with the flat side of her blade. Karin swore loudly.

" _Karin_!" Rukia cried, crossing her arms. "Watch your language around children. Don't be a poor role model." She scolded, scowling at Karin's rotten language.

Karin groaned loudly, defeated. There were so many things wrong with this place.

* * *

Karin begged Rukia not to leave her alone with the Abarai spawn, but in the end, Karin was abandoned. It was a warm, early June day. The sun was shining brightly, the sky was a glorious shade of blue. Too bad Karin had to spend such a splendid day under the fearful reign of a little girl with a big ego.

"Alright, you fool!" Ichika cried once she chased Karin outside Squad 13's barracks and into their courtyard. "What's the most important thing for a Shinigami to have?"

"Uhh…" Karin wasn't prepared for a pop quiz, so she guessed the first thing her eyes landed on. "...a zanpakuto?"

Ichika grinned a gin so terrifying, it was going to give Karin nightmares. "You insolent FOOL!" She cried as she hit Karin on the head with the flat side of her blade again.

"SHIT! Stop DOING THAT!" Karin bellowed, rubbing the top of her head.

"Drop and give me twenty push-ups!" Ichika ordered, pointing at the ground. Karin just stared at her in disbelief until Ichika raised her zanpakuto again. Karin growled and dropped to the ground.

"Now, while you are kissing the ground like the worm that you are," Where the hell did Ichika learn to talk like this? "think about your answer to my question. Every time you answer a question wrong, you will do more push ups." Ichika explained the rules of her game as she sheathed her sword with a devilish giggle.

"What about things like," Karin paused to complete her eight push up, "like flash step? Are you going," she paused and finished her ninth, "teach me that stuff, too?"

Ichika was clearly displeased with her meat back talking her. She jumped onto Karin's back, adding the weight. "Incorrect answer. I want twenty more push ups once you finish this set!"

Karin mumbled something and continued her push ups. She didn't mind the physical work, she enjoyed working out. What she did mind was a snobbish brat sitting on her back.

But what could a Soul Reaper need other than their zanpakuto? Karin thought deeply about what the answer could be. How was she supposed to know the answer to something about a topic she knew little-to-nothing about?

Wait a second.

"Their mind!" Karin called as she finished her twenty-ninth push up. Eleven more to go. "The most important thing to have is intelligence!"

Ichika laughed happily and clapped her hands. "Took you long enough! I bet it was a lucky guess. Wow, you're not going to be a smart one, are ya?" She teased as she got off of Karin's back. "Finish your push ups as you think about the answer to this next one: Why?"

"Easy," Karin replied as she completed her thirtieth push up and held her position as she recited her answer. She wasn't even breaking a sweat yet. "You can't fight, you can't use a sword, you can't do anything without some sort of smarts." She continued her push ups.

Ichika smirked and patted Karin's head like a child would pet their dog. "Very good, Fool! Next question." She jeered, doing a twirl around Karin as she finished her set. "Get back on your feet, maggot!"

Karin couldn't keep up with all this obnoxious yelling. She sighed and jumped to her feet, crossing her arms. "Shoot." She taunted, glaring at the little girl.

"How many forms does a Zanpakuto have?"

Karin thought back to when Toshiro came to visit her. He had two versions of Hyorinmaru. The one when it was a normal katana, and the second version had a crescent moon blade hanging off of a chain. Ichigo had two forums, too. The one with the big, black meat cleaver, and then the one when he wore the long black and red robe.

"The answer is two."

"Wrong! Give me twenty squats!"

"What happened to push ups?

"Wrong again, fool, forty squats!"

Karin grumbled and got into the squatting position. This girl really let things go to her head. But if the answer wasn't two, then what could it be?

"Three!" Karin guessed. She really had no ideas.

"Correct! What are they called?" Ichika chimed, watching Karin suffer. Karin's cheeks were red from the work her body was doing. Sweat now started to bead on her forehead.

"How the hell am I supposed to know? I'm not a Shinigami!"

"INCORRECT, FOOOOOOL~!" Ichika shouted into Karin's ear. "I want another set of squats." She held up three fingers.

"The three forums of a zanpakuto are it's sealed forum, it's Shikai, and Bankai." Ichika explained as she sat down on the lush grass, her eyes glued to Karin's up and down motion. She dug her pinky finger into her ear, which grossed Karin out.

"In order to learn Shikai, you need to learn your Zanpakuto's name." The young child explained as she set her own zanpakuto across her lap.

"I thought you guys named your zanpakuto." Karin commented, finishing her first set of squats.

"Twenty more!" Ichika cried, Karin was expecting this unfair punishment at this point. Ichika was trigger happy. "And no, we don't name them. Each blade a soul, and that soul has their own name. But we, as the wielder, come up with the command for the zanpakuto's release."

"Only a few people know the name of their zanpakuto by the time they leave the academy. I was one of those who didn't learn my zanpakuto's name." Ichika explained, watching her reflection on her polished blade. "She says she won't tell a brat like myself what her name is, not until I grow up. She's the little snot! She won't listen to _me_."

Karin wanted to say something, but she didn't know what to say. Ichika was a brat, but if her zanpakuto spirit didn't want Ichika to grow up too fast…

Karin finished her eighty squats in silence. Her quads and thighs were on fire, but she lived for this feeling. She wiped the moisture from her forehead with her red sleeve, feeling satisfied.

"Do have any more questions?" Karin asked, standing up straight and then she bowed down to the ground, stretching her calves.

Ichika looked up from her zanpakuto and stared at Karin. "What do you even know about Soul Reapers, anyway?"

A little late to ask that question.

"Not much. You know my brother, Ichigo. But he kept the world of Soul Reapers away from me. I've only interacted with shinigami other than Ichigo, your mom, Kisuke, and Yoruichi a few times. But I really don't know anything besides what we've been over."

Ichika tilted her head as she put her hands on her hips. "Good thing you're going to the Academy in a few weeks, that stuff is boring to talk about." She jumped to her feet and slid her sheathed sword into her sash. "Well, then, let's go over the basics!"

Karin was going to learn that those words were going to haunt her until her first day at the Academy arrived.


	8. Cold History

The weeks leading up to Karin's start at the Academy were long and treacherous. Ichika never missed an opportunity to make Karin do an extra set of exercises or hit Karin on the head with her sword. Karin would always return to her temporary quarters sore, sweaty, and bruised.

During those seven weeks of hell, Ichika drilled Karin with physical training and fun facts about fighting like a Soul Reaper. She would force Karin to learn how to at least suppress her spiritual pressure so she wasn't attracting so much attention from a 5 mile radius. Ichika would take her on field trips to a dojo where she would nail Zanjutsu tactics into Karin's head; literally. Karin always felt that the wooden bokken were just not long enough for what she wanted to do, so she would constantly fall short or be too close to her target. When Karin was hiding from the spawn, she found herself at the archives learning the history of the Shinigami, all the way up to the final Quincy rebellion.

In the end, Karin was in a fantastic place to start her real lessons. She even was beginning to learn flash step. All of her hard work pay off, because when she took the entrance exams, the Academy masters decided to move her ahead two years to an advanced class. Karin only had to be there for four years if she progressed at a normal rate.

Karin wished that Ichigo had come to visit her before she had taken the exams. Or that he came to the Academy's acceptance ceremony. Or that he had helped her move into her dorm.

She missed her family.

Karin looked into the small mirror that hung on the wall of her spartan dorm. The only "decoration" she had in her room was the soccer ball that Rukia managed to find when Karin first came to Soul Society.

Karin took a deep breath and picked up her comb and began to style her hair. For the past few years, she would let some loose hair hang over her forehead. But now that she was working out even more, that lock of hair would get in the way of her vision and just absorb sweat. It was a pain to deal with, and if she was going to be fighting...She pushed it off to the side, revealing her forehead. Karin then tied her hair back in a high ponytail.

Karin blinked at her reflection. Mirror Karin reminded Karin of middle school Karin. However, Mirror Karin had much longer hair. She wore traditional red and white academy robes. Her face had matured a bit and her body had changed its shape. She had put on some more muscle in the past several weeks thanks to Ichika's harsh training, but Karin wasn't one of those girls who wanted a 'pretty' body.

Karin jolted as someone knocked on her door. She threw her brush onto her desk and cleared her throat. "Get your head into the game, Karin." She told herself as she walked over to the sliding door and opened it. To her surprise, her face was met with a pair of fleshy cushions.

"Hello, Karin~! It's good to see you again!" Rangiku cried as she wrapped her arms around Karin, giving her a tight squeeze as Karin's face was buried deeper into Rangiku's cleavage. "Wow, you can really pull that uniform off, red is your color, girl!"

The dark haired girl freed herself from Rangiku's grasp and shook her head with disgust as she retreated back into her room. "Ah, Rangiku. I wasn't expecting to see you here...in my face" Karin added that last part quietly, not trying to start anything.

Rangiku laughed and winked. "And I didn't come alone!" She exclaimed as she entered Karin's room. Renji, a girl Karin knew by the name of Lieutenant Hinamori, a two men Karin had seen but Rukia never introduced her to, and finally, the Ice Prince himself entered her tiny room as well.

"We bought some housewarming gifts!" Lieutenant Hinamori chirped, holding out a small woven basket for Karin to take. "These are for you!" She was a small women who looked to be in her late teens to early twenties. Her hair was tied up into a gathered, brown bun. Strands of brown hair outlined her face while cute bangs that were swept to the side concealed her forehead.

"Ah, thank you, Lieutenant Hinamori. That's very generous of you." Karin replied as the Lieutenant placed the basket in Karin's care.

Momo giggled sweetly at Karin's manners. "You can just call me Momo. And in case you haven't met these two…" she let the thought hang as she waited for the strangers to introduce themselves.

"I'm Izuru Kira, Lieutenant of Squad 3." Izuru introduced himself. He had a very tall and very thin figure. He looked nervous, like he was guilty of doing something bad. His droopy, blue eyes were startling at first glance, but showed no evil intent. He had long, very light blonde hair that cover the side of his face.

"And I am Shuhei Hisagi, Lieutenant of Squad 9." The last stranger explained. He had black, spikey hair like Ichigo's and the number sixty-nine along with a gray stripe tattooed onto his left cheek. The right side of his face was decorated with a set of three, gruesome, long scars. He had armlet tattoos on his bare biceps. He was much more muscular than Renji, Toshiro, and Izuru, but Karin had a feeling that it was just for show.

Renji was the tallest of all of them. He wore a black bandana around his head. His beautiful, long, red hair was perfectly braided down his back. Karin guessed that Renji was the one who did Ichika's hair in the morning.

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Karin." She replied before biting her lip. "But, of course, you already knew that." Way to go. She certainly was the best at first impressions. First with falling off a building into a group the Captains, now verbally vomiting nonsense with some lieutenants.

Momo and Rangiku laughed at Karin's awkwardness. "Oh, Karin, no need to be so uptight!" Rangiku teased as she almost tackled Karin. But Karin was ready for the busty woman this time. She just stepped to the side and let Rangiku narrowly avoid making contact with the small dresser that had been behind Karin.

"The only uptight one here is Shiro!" Momo commented as she looked to the only Captain in the room. Toshiro scowled.

"For the last time, Hinamori, it's-"

"Captain Hitsugaya!" Almost everyone in the room mockingly said together.

Karin couldn't help but laugh at what just happened. "Shiro? Is that the nickname your friends call you?" She asked in a jokingly tone.

If there weren't so many people in the room, Toshiro's cheeks would be red at Karin's and Momo's incessant teasing.

" _She's_ the only one who calls me that." Toshiro pointed out, nodding his head at Momo. "It's what she called me when we were little, and she just won't forget it."

Karin didn't know why, but she felt her heart sink a little bit at Toshiro's words. So Hinamori and Hitsugaya were childhood friends? Was 'Shiro' a pet name? Karin couldn't help but get the idea that Toshiro and Momo were probably together.

But why did that bother her?

"Ah, well, it's almost dinner time. I gotta get back to Ichika or else she's going to get hungry." Renji announced, looking out of Karin's single window. "Good luck with your lessons, Karin. I'm sure Ichigo will come to visit real soon."

"Thanks for stopping by, Renji." Karin said, smiling. "I hope he does, or else I'm going to have to kick his ass over in the World of the Living." Renji laughed at Karin's little quip and left the room.

"We should get going, too. Lieutenants can't stay away from work too long." Shuhei said, rubbing the back of his neck as he glanced at Momo and Izuru.

"Only if that thought applied to _all_ lieutenants." Toshiro commented as he coldly glared at a sudden sheepish Rangiku.

"It was nice to officially meet Ichigo's sister. I think you'll like it here at the Academy, but don't push yourself too hard or you'll get sloppy." The dark haired man warned. Karin wondered if he gave that advice because of his own experience at the Academy.

"Thank you so much for the basket, these will definitely making this room feel more like a room." Karin responding, smiling brightly as they exited her dwellings.

"Oh, it's our pleasure. Let's hang out sometime!" She heard Momo call as Shuhei and Izuru pushed her out the door.

And then there were three.

"Matsumoto!" Toshiro called as he noticed her trying to sneak out with the other lieutenant. But she was already out the door; there was no going back. Rangiku quickly shut the door and bolted for it, laughing like the idiot she was.

And then there were two.

Toshiro stood by the doorway, trying to figure out an excuse to get him out of there. It was most likely inappropriate of him to be alone in the room of an Academy student, a female Academy student no less. A female academy student who happened to me related to Ichigo Kurosaki even less than no less.

"Toshiro, why are you acting so weird?" Karin asked bluntly, tilting her head, a blank expression on her face.

"I don't know what you are talking about." Toshiro replied, crossing his arms. "I should be going as well-"

"I'm not talking about right now this minute, but since you and Kisuke and Yoruichi found me, you've been acting really distant." Karin pointed out, also crossing her arms. Toshiro's blue eyes met her dark gray ones.

"I really don't know what you are accusing me of, Kurosaki."

"I'm not 'Kurosaki', that's my brother. You always called me Karin, or at least you used to." Karin explained as she tilted her head from side to side. She let her neck crack loudly. "Maybe it's just me, but you didn't act like this towards me when I was in grade school."

"You've grown up since then. I've matured-"

"-You don't really look like it." Karin threw in.

"-that's besides the point, as I've said a thousand times, I'm not a little kid. I was never a little kid when you knew me, and I certainly did not age backwards in the past twelve years." Toshiro finished with as he turned towards the door. He went to open it, but Karin was suddenly between Toshiro and the sliding door, her hand firmly pressed against it.

"Did you just flash step?" Toshiro asked, his expression unimpressed, but internally he certainly was. She learned a lot in only seven weeks.

"They're not just letting me skip ahead two years at the Academy just because of my name." Karin answered with a smirk. "So, are you going to answer my question, or what?"

Toshiro realized how close he was to Karin and took a few steps back. "Obviously, what I was trying to say flew right over your head."

Karin frowned at that comment. Okay, now Toshiro was insulting her. Funny boy was trying to start something with her.

"Oh?" Karin asked, still leaning her weight against the door. "And, pray tell, what _were_ you trying to say to me?" She asked a little harsher than she intended. Toshiro looked at her with those icy blue eyes that could give almost anyone chills.

Almost anyone.

"I am not the person who stepped in and helped your elementary school soccer team win games. I've grown up, both figuratively and literally. People I've cared about have gotten hurt and died." Toshiro said so coldly that Karin could have sworn icicles were growing on her ceiling. "I'm not who you think. Not anymore."

Karin was wordless at Toshiro's fridged words. Appalled, she scoffed and stepped away from the door. "Okay." She started as she once again protectively crossed her arms over her chest.

"I don't think that the you I supposedly 'knew', the good you, is gone. At least not gone forever." The dark haired girl challenged, looking at Toshiro with a strong look. She watched Toshiro walk over to the door and slide it open. The kanji for '10' was facing towards her. "After all, you did help me keep my memories. You're not as cold as people think you are."

"You don't know me." Toshiro's voice said as he walked out of the door. "Good luck with your classes." He finished with before leaving without shutting the door.

Karin stood in her room, the housewarming basket in her hands suddenly felt like a hundred-pound-weight. She placed the basket on her desk and slid her door shut.

"Asshole." Karin muttered under her breath as she sat down at her desk. Bored and with nothing else to do, she began taking things out of the basket. There was a red blanket, a notepad, some cookies that she guess Momo made, some lavender incense, a small bottle of sake from Rangiku, a music player and earbuds from the World of the Living, and some other tiny trinkets. At the very bottom of the basket as a small dark pouch. Karin curiously picked it up and untied the sting, peeking inside.

Seeing the contents, her stomach began to churn like a thunderstorm. She placed the pouch on her desk and reached for the Ipod Renji had put in the basket. She put the earbuds in her ears, pressed play, and went to lay down on her bed, her back to the basket of goodies.

 _Tell me what I've gotta do_

 _There's no getting through to you_

 _The lights are on but nobody's home (nobody's home)_

Talking to Toshiro was a bad idea. Karin should had just let him go when he tried to leave the first time, or the second time.

 _You say I can't understand_

 _But you're not giving me a chance_

 _When you leave me, where do you go? (Where do you go?)_

Karin felt like she could hear the tiny black pouch taunting her from it's camp on her desk.

 _All the walls that you keep building_

 _All this time that I spent chasing_

 _All the ways that I keep losing you_

Stupid Toshiro and his old man taste buds.

 _The truth is, you turn into someone else_

 _You keep running like the sky is falling_

 _I can whisper, I can yell_

 _But I know, yeah I know, yeah I know_

 _I'm just talking to myself_

Candied beans were _so_ old school.

* * *

The lyrics are from _Talking To Myself_ by Linkin Park. RIP Chester Bennington :'(

Here, is where I stop this month's fic vomit. Hopefully, I'll see you next month~! Happy reviews make me a Happy writer~ ;)


	9. Not Alone

Hey guys, sorry for the space between uploads. I'm currently swimming through a shit ton of shit in life, but I swear I'll never give this story up. This is the one fic I REALLY wanna finish. I'm gonna try super hard to follow the once-a-month drop of chapters after this one. Now that it's summer, I think it's gonna happen xP

* * *

That night, Karin was given nothing but nightmares from the Gods of Sleep. She woke up time and time again, sweat dripping down her neck. The first one was of Ichigo fighting the big, tough guy with the eye patch. His hair wasn't down, but tied up into a ridiculous crown of spikes and bells.

Ichigo was brutally and ruthlessly killed by that man.

Karin wanted to scream at the Captain, at least throw some stones at him to make him stop mocking Ichigo, but something was pulling her back into the shadows. Was someone giggling?

The next horror was of two men Karin did not recognize. One of them sort of looked like Ichigo, but he had long, black hair that reached down his back and glowing, red eyes. He wore lots of bandages the color of a cloudy-storm filled sky. His black blade was fused to his arm.

The second man, if that could be what she called them, wore a white gown and had wings that resembled a horrifying moth. His demon-like eyes gave the only shine behind a black cowl of darkness. This figure was utterly _petrifying_. His long, brown hair spread out all around him like a cloak the Man in Black fought the Man in White. Karin couldn't tell who was the good guy in this fight.

Karin noticed something in the corner of her eye. Her jaw dropped as her gaze fell on her father in a Shinigami uniform laying on the ground, all too still.

All Karin knew was that she didn't get to see the end of the fight. Everything faded into black flames as a child's crazed laughter faintly scratched through the Dark.

The third vision consisted of so much death. A sickly man with long, white hair. A woman with inky, dark locks and a scar of an old wound sat on her neck like a charm. An old, but somehow impossibly muscular, man protected by fire. Countless casualties dressed in white and in soul reaper uniforms laid bloody, mutilated, and burned on the dusty ground.

In the midst of all the bodies, Karin watched the image of her brother again and again fight, fail, and come back stronger. Was this the strength of her brother that everyone raved about? Karin witnessed a terrifyingly radiant Rukia in snow-white robes and felt the waves of frigid mist on her skin. She watched a man she did not recognize with long, flowing blonde hair and furry ears slowly shrink until he was nothing but a sickly wolf. Finally, a cold man dressed in an ill-fitting white uniform flashed through her mind. His mesmerizing blue gaze stared into her soul.

That last part wasn't so threatening.

" _Now, now, now, little Kurosaki_ ," A voice whispered in her sleeping ear as everything faded into crimson petals, " _your history lesson is finished_."

Karin's dark gray eyes snapped open like lightning, her body automatically switching into a stiff upright position on her futon, her ghost heart racing.

What was she just dreaming about? The memories of the dream began to fade as fast as the dreams woke her.

Karin groaned, rubbing at her eyes. It was early, most likely around five in the morning. Karin didn't mind being up early in the morning, but today was the first day of lessons. She was going to need all the rest she could get.

But screw getting a good night sleep, because studies were obviously more important than taking caring of yourself.

Karin threw her blankets off of her and jumped to her feet as she stretched her arms out like birds' wings, waking her muscles up. The last memories of her dream dissipated with her yawns, but the giggles still echoed throughout her consciousness.

* * *

After a few minutes of freshening up and putting her uniform on, Karin proceed to exit her room and go out into the hallway. The Academy Mess hall wouldn't be opened for at least another. She had some time to wander and explore what the Academy had to offer.

The Academy had a bigger campus than even her college, but the population was even smaller than her elementary school. From what she understood, there were only about 2,000 students within the six levels of lessons. Karin was starting as a third year, which apparently was one of the most important years for some reason or another.

When Yoruichi was showing her the layout of the land, Karin may or may not had zoned out and stopped listening after a while.

Karin felt like a candy cane samurai as she wandered the grounds in her red and white uniform. Her hair was tied back into her signature ponytail, her dark bangs framing her pale face. The sun was just peeking its face over the horizon, shedding it's morning glare over Soul Society. Only faculty and a few other students were out and about. So, of course Karin wasn't expecting a hand to roughly grip her shoulder.

"Hey, you!" A rough voice called behind her as a strong claw dug into her top.

Karin wiggled her nose in distaste as round fingernails broke the skin of her left shoulder. She turned her head, looking at who was grabbing her.

"Who are you, and what do you want?" Karin asked in a calm, almost bored, tone, her eyes slits as she looked at this person.

The boy looked to be in his late teens to early twenties. His hair was spiked and black. It so long that he had it pulled back into a low ponytail that traced down his spine. His jawbone was set and his nose was pointed. He had dark, brown eyes that reminded Karin of Ichigo; a really unhappy Ichigo.

"What the hell is someone like _you_ wearing an Academy uniform?" The boy asked roughly, his fingertips breaking into Karin's skin. Karin pulled herself away from him in retaliation. She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at the kid. He obviously was trying to start something, and Karin wasn't going to give him what he wanted.

She stared blankly at the boy with a cold, dark gaze before turning and walking away silently.

"Hey! I was talking to you!" The dark haired young man boomed. "Who the hell do you think you are, _Kurosaki_!" Karin heard his scratchy voice spit out at her. She just kept walking, even though she was curious as to how this kid knew who she was.

The boy's yells attracted the attentions of the few who were already out and about. The area around Karin suddenly was filled with whispers once her last name was called. Karin sighed, wanting to turn the curious whispers off. However, the kid did his damage. Pretty soon everyone knew who Karin was.

She was Ichigo's little sister.

Word got around the academy pretty fast. By the time Karin went to her class, Year 3 class A, she was met with a room full of eyes that studied her like a bug pinned down underneath a sheet of glass. Karin's blank expression remained unchanging as she unhesitatingly walked into her classroom and quietly stood off to the side, trying to dodge any attention coming her way.

The classroom was not what Karin expected. She was used to a classroom filled with rows on rows desks and either a chalkboard or a whiteboard in the front of the room by the teacher's desk. This classroom certainly was not a lecture hall; it was a dojo. The wooden floors were freshly polished with little divots here and there like someone stabbed it with a blade. The far wall was nothing but windows, while all the other walls were just wood. The dojo was filled with two dozens students in blue uniforms and red uniforms. Some of the students looked to be around Karin's age while others looked to be middle schoolers. There were one or two adults as well as one or two little kids mixed into the variety of students.

The first pair of eyes that met Karin's were brother-like. "Oh, hell, no." Karin muttered as the boy from before glared at her.

"You gotta be kidding me!" Both Karin and the boy cried as the pointed at each other, their jaws dropping to the floor.

"Kenji, have you met her before?" A small girl asked the dark haired boy. She barely reached five feet high, Her hair was woven neatly into a low, copper braid that flowed like a river down her back. Her big, shiny, black eyes watched the boy as he looked down at her.

"Yeah, she's a Kurosaki!" Kenji replied to the long haired girl, his glare turning back to Karin. Karin put her hands on her hips, pursing her lips in disapproval.

"Are you gonna call me out and make a scene every time you see me, strange boy who I have never met before?" Karin asked in a mocking tone as she stared at him, one eyebrow raised. She was starting to get more than a little annoyed with this character.

The small girl elbowed Kenji in the side, scowling at him as he yipped in surprise. "You haven't even introduced yourself? Jeez, since when is someone like you so rude?" She asked in a pouty manner, her lips pursed as she reached up and flicked him in the forehead.

"Hey! That was uncalled for, As-" Kenji started before the sliding paper door behind Karin opened up as three soul reapers stepped into the room, silencing him. One of the new faces belonged to a woman who had a zanpakuto secured to her right side. She had spiky electric blue-green hair that made Karin think of a stereotypical rock star. It was cut close to her head on her right, while it was longer in the left. Some of her hair fell over her piercing eyes. Her irises were so gold that they could have event made Yoruichi's eyes look rusted. Even though her uniform was full length, it was easy to tell that this woman had a scary amount of muscles that made up her body. She had a little scar that above and over her full lips. Karin had the feeling that she didn't want to get on this lady's bad side.

"Pardon us, miss." A male voice said as a pair of soul reapers followed by the woman made their way past Karin and to the front of the room. They carried a big, black, decorated box to the front of the room and laid it down on the wooden floor panels.

"Thank you~!" The blue hair woman sang as the soul reapers politely bowed to her before leaving. She giggled and looked back to her class. "Well, now that y'all a bit calmed down, I guess we should get started, yes? If you're not here, raise your hand!"

The students in the room murmured at the woman's strange actions and unexpected attitude. Surely, she couldn't be serious.

"Alrighty, then, moving on! 'Cause if you're not here, you're not important to me~!" The woman chirped as she crossed her arms over her plump chest, smirking at the academy students that stood before her. "My name is Amara Suzushiro~! I am your teacher this time around, yes?" She asked the class cheerfully as if someone in the group was going to call out and tell her 'no'. As expected, no one dared to tell the teacher otherwise.

"Great! Let's get started! As you know, your third year in your training is very important, any of you chickies know why?" Amara chimed as she sat down on the decorated box. She crossed her arms as well as her legs as she looked up at her class. "No one knows what's in the box~?"

"Our zanpakuto!" Someone cried from behind Karin.

"Ding-ding-ding! We have a winner, sorta!" Amara cheered, clapping her hands a couple times. "These aren't zanpakuto quiet yet, for now, they're Asauchi. But what could that mean?"

The girl with copper hair raised her hand. "It is because they do not have names, their abilities and spirit have not taken shape."

"Very good, Asuga! Someone paid attention to their last teacher~!" Amara applauded, standing up. She swiftly opened the box and plucked a sheathed katana out of it. She tossed it to the girl who had answered correctly,

Asuga, however, was not expecting a sword to be thrown at her. She reached out, trying to grab it, but her hands did not find themselves grasping the sheath. She cried out as she tripped over her own feet. Both Shinigami and Asauchi clattered to the ground.

"Huh, too bad your reflexes aren't as quick as your head," Amara commented as a couple snickers decorated the dojo's atmosphere, "but that's what this training is for! Now, everyone lineup and get your Asauchi~"

Karin looked down at a red-faced Asuga who stammered to pick up her blade as feet moved around her to line up. Karin found herself bending down and offering her classmate a hand. Asuga looked up at Karin with dark eyes from her kneeling position and smiled.

"Thanks." Asuga whispered as she graciously accepted Karin's help and got to her feet. She brushed her hakama. "I'm Asuga Morimoto." She introduced herself with a big smile.

"I'm Karin." The raven haired girl answered, putting her hands on her hips. "Nice to meet you." She added as she looked over to the line that everyone but herself had already found themselves in. She briskly walked past Asuga and found herself at the caboose of the excited stream of students. The rude asshole known as Kenji was the next one to take his Asauchi and wandered back over to Asuga. Karin watched them as the exchanged enthusiastic words about what they hoped to find in their zanpakuto abilities. Kenji looked from Asuga and towards the line. His chocolate eyes met Karin's cloudy ones.

They both scowled at each other. Karin scoffed and crossed her arms, looking ahead at the line, but she could feel Kenji's annoying gaze burn into her.

The line quickly diminished at the volume of excited voices raised. It was finally Karin's turn to receive her Asauchi.

"Hm? How come I don't recognize you, chicky?" The rugged Amara asked Karin as she reached down into the box to pull out the last katana.

"I'm new." Karin explained simply as she held her hands out to take the sword. "My name is Karin."

Amara looked over Karin with her electrified gaze, a glint of wonder in her golden eyes. "Cool." She answered blandly as she handed Karin her Asauchi.

As the sheath was laid into Karin's open palmed, the air around Karin contorted. Red ominous mist sprouted from the sheath as Karin's eyes widened. The room that had been vibrating with excited silenced as everyone looked to the front where Karin was.

Karin shivered from the energy that flowed from the katana in her hands through her body.

" _It's good to meet you formally, Karin. We're gonna have so much fun together_."

"Who said that?" Karin asked allowed as she looked around the room, trying to find the source of the voice. The voice sounded like it belonged to someone young, not as young as Kazui or Ichika, but not quite an adult.

Amara stepped back from Karin with a smirk on her lips. "Interesting." she commented, tilting her head as she watched this play out. The mist around Karin dissipated, revealing that the sword had elongated itself and changed its look. The usual black handle of an Asauchi was now a deep shade of crimson. The plain sheath was now red with dipped in darkness. The antique gold guard was rectangular with curved fangs at the corners.

" _I'm not in the room, idiot, I'm in your head_."

"What did you say your last name was again, Karin?" Amara asked from her position, her eyes glued on her student.

Karin hesitated as her awestruck stare fell on Zanpakuto. "K-Kurosaki." She muttered, her open hands closing around her sheath. It's presence felt warm in her grasp.

Amara smiled as she watched Karin turn and walk back to the others, "Very interesting," the students parted as Karin walked through them. They all looked down at Karin's sword in awe, shock, and envy. Kenji scowled as Karin stood next to Asuga. Karin was still staring at her sword, her eyes were wide like a baby seeing something for the first time.

" _I'm Karasugetsu. And you? You're now my bitch_."

* * *

Okay, I think I'm just about done with introduce stuff, so things are super gonna start picking up after this.

At the end of chapters, I'm gonna be addressing reviews. Your reviews have the power to either get me to write more chapters or make me write less. I love reviews, especially positive ones, but some of them are super pointless and I will call you out on it. I'm not gonna try to be an asshole about bad reviews, sometimes negitive feed back is good, but some of them just do not make sense sometimes.

Wheelof0fDown Ahhh I'm glad you like it! Fear not, I do have plans for Yuzu. I'm just gonna build some things up first before we get back to our little orange ;Pc

Guest(s?) I don't think I've really mentioned Byakuya in this fic, so Idk what you're talking about. I love shinigami Karin, but I also love storytelling~ I start out slow for intro stuff and then things pick up!

Do not worry! I gonna finish this one even if it's the last thing I do :D Thanks for the support~!

FINALLY, is my tumblr, if you go there you can see my HitsuKarin sketches and drawings, my Toshiro and other bleach cosplays, and even more bleach stuffies! There, if you search #myart, you will also see spoilers for this story, but you won't know which sketches belong to this story. You're warned!


	10. Teasing Tease

"Hey, you're not supposed to be carrying your Zanpakuto around the Seireitei!" A soul reaper called after Karin. "Especially not during peacetime as an academy student!"

"I'm bringing it home!" Karin howled back, lying as she continued on her way.

" _I didn't make you braindead, right? You wouldn't be much fun for me if you are_." The voice of her zanpakuto said inside her soul.

"No, I'm not!" Karin muttered under her breath, taking a turn. "Just ignoring the whiny asshole inside my brain." Her newly acquired zanpakuto was strapped to her back, the guard brushed against her right shoulder as she moved her feet.

" _Good, you were all too quiet after I revealed myself_."

"That'll happen when I get put in the center of attention."

Karin skidded to a stop as she looked up at the building. The kanji for 10 was painted upon the upper level. She made it without getting stopped too many times by passing shinigami. Mission accomplished!

"Hey, stop right there!" Two shinigami called as the approached Karin. "You're not apart of Squad 10, what are you trying to pull?"

"Uhh, is there a problem?" Karin asked, crossing her arms as she looked at the two squad members with an unamused gaze.

"We're not letting an armed academy student in here without permission from the Captain."

"Well, I'm friends with Toshiro, and Rangiku; the Captain and Lieutenant. I really need to ask them a few things."

"Captain Hitsugaya is doing paperwork right now. If you tell us your name, we can tell him you came by."

"Oh, come oooooon!" Karin grumbled. She didn't have time for this bullshit. "The 13th isn't nearly as stingy as you guys are, Rukia always gives me free reign-" Karin started before she noticed a blonde hair woman standing in the main doorway of the 10th.

"Saito, Kobayashi, Karin's a friend. She can come right on in when ever she wants!" Rangiku called as she stepped out into the open. The two lower ranking shinigami jumped and straighten their posture as they heard their ranking officer call them out.

Karin smirked slyly at the two shinigami as she walked past them towards her friend, at least, she thought Matsumoto was her friend.

"How have you been, girly? It's been such a long time since I've seen you!" Rangiku asked cheerfully as she draped one of her arms around Karin's shoulders, giving her a friendly squeeze. Karin couldn't help but smile as she experienced the kind gesture.

"Rangiku, it hasn't even been a full twenty-four hours since you were hanging out at my dorm." Karin pointed out, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Long enough that you've obtained a Zanpakuto!" Rangiku pointed out, winking at the shorter woman besides her. "Is that why you're here to visit the 10th? Or are you here to just here to see a particular white-haired Captain, hmmmm~?

Karin nearly choked on the air she breathed at that last comment. "No! Hell, no! 'specially after the bullshit he pulled last night-!" She shouted before her eyes met Rangiku's red cheeks and curious grin. "Aughhh, I can't believe you're assuming what you're thinking, Rangiku."

"What can I say? A man can get lonely sometimes…" The busty woman insinuate, hiding her smile behind her hand. "But, seriously, is everything alright between you and the Captain? He was in one of his moods this morning."

Karin's steps slowed to a stop as she looked at the ground.

"I don't know. Things are just...different now."

Rangiku looked at Karin with sympathy, her bluebell eyes glancing down at Karin. Karin wasn't wrong, but she wasn't exactly spot on either.

"A lot can happen to a person in a few years, especially here in Soul Society. You both have grown up." She stated, putting her hands on Karin's shoulders. Karin's dark eyes looked up to Rangiku's. "But that doesn't mean you two still are not friends."

Karin sighed, shrugging her way out of Rangiku's grasp with a small, but thankful, smile. "Yeah, I guess that's a point." She murmured, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Well, let's take a trip down to the office," Rangiku started cheerfully, winking at Karin, continuing on her way, "Obviously, you're not just visiting to see lil' ol' me, right?"

"Eh, two birds with one stone." Karin replied, smirking as she followed the Lieutenant down a couple of halls.

"Captain~! You'll never guess who came to visit us!" Rangiku sang as she slid open the paper sliding doors. On the other side of the threshold presented a rather crowded office. Shelves upon shelves of books, documents, and reports lined the walls. A few paneled windows were scattered about the room, but the one that first came to attention was the one behind the only desk in the room. A certain Captain sat behind that desk, filling out piles paperwork.

Toshiro looked up from a forum, his eyes falling on Karin.

"Rangiku, you know we have paperwork to do," The white haired boy pointed out as he placed his signature on the paper he had been working on, "we don't have time for visitors." There clearly still was an awkward tension between the two younger souls that had been left from the previous night's discussion.

"I wasn't sure where else to go." Karin grumbled as she reached back over her right shoulder and unsheathed the blade that rested there. She saw Toshiro's eyes light up with curiosity at the sight of the zanpakuto. "Rukia is holding combat practice from Squad 13, and this bombshell sorta dropped on me in class today."

" _I'm not that much of a bombshell, Karin, after all, it's not like today is the first time you've heard my voice."_ She heard the voice inside her say.

"What am I supposed to do with this, exactly?" Karin asked as she walked over to Toshiro's desk and carefully placed the sword across his papers. "And for the love of God, how do I make him shut up?"

" _Wow. Rude. That was a low blow, Karin. I'll remember that one_." Karasugetsu grumbled. Karin had the feeling he was crossing his arm and pouting now. " _Bitch_." He finished with.

"I am not a bitch, you brat." Karin spat, causing Toshiro to raise an eyebrow and Rangiku to giggle. "If my bullshit sense is tingling, I'm gonna call you out on it."

"Haineko is a sassy handful," Rangiku started, walking over to some drawers off to the side and pulled on out. Inside, a short, pink-handled sword in a brown sheath laid dormant. Rangiku lifted her blade out of it and showed it to Karin. "Every Zanpakuto is different. Some are more chatty than, like Haineko, while others are more reserved, like Hyorinmaru. Right, Captain?"

"The same could be said about lieutenants." Toshiro muttered under his breath as he reached for his tea cup and too a brief sip. He looked over Karin's Zanpakuto with interest. His hand skimmed it's blade. "This is a very fine blade, you need to learn to wield it."

"I worked on my zanjustu over the summer, but that was just with wooden swords." Karin explained, reaching for her sword and sheathing it. "That said, I don't really see the difference practicing with a Zanpakuto would make."

"A Zanpakuto isn't just a sword, Karin." Toshiro stated, standing up from his perch at his desk. He moved over to where Rangiku was and retrieve his own Zanpakuto. His blade was the longest out of the three. The handle was wrapped in an icy-purple cord. The guard was a four-point star.

"Your zanpakuto is your power to wield, but you need to be ready to have such power." Toshiro instructed. "Usually, this comes from months, even years, of practicing and shaping your Asauchi. But there are rare cases in which your Zanpakuto manifests itself to it's master immediately."

Karin sighed with relief. She wasn't some abnormal, Mary Sue student at the academy. There were others that had stood in her shoes. "So, now what do I do?" Karin repeated her question from before. "I know I'm 'posed to learn it's name for shikai, but he already introduced himself as 'Karasugetsu'."

Rangiku looked from Karin to Toshiro. They're stories seemed to be a lot alike. Toshiro had obtained Hyorinmaru shorty after started at the Shino Academy. Instantaneously, he had learned his Zanpakuto's name and achieved shikai.

Those two could certainly learn a lot from each other.

"Do you know what Jinzen is?" Toshiro asked Karin, crossing his arms over his chest as he watched her.

Karin made a face and shook her head. Youichi didn't mention that, and they didn't go over it in class yet.

"Captain, what if you went out to the courtyard with Karin and teach her about it?" Rangiku chirped as she put her zanpakuto away.

Toshiro scoffed and shook his head. "Matsumoto, I have too much work-"

"Awww, Captain~! Come on, you should always have time for a friend! Especially a lady friend who could end up being your girlfriend~" Rangiku started before both Karin and Toshiro's faces turned a deep shade of red.

"A WHAT now!?" Karin cried, balling her fists at Rangiku's blunt stupidity.

"She's not my-!" Toshiro shouted before scoffing and running his hand through his silver mane. He wasn't in the mood to deal with any of Rangiku's teasing today.

"It's okay Captain, I'll take care of these documents while you're helping her! After all, it is a Captain's job to nudge their underlings in the right direction."

"I'm not his 'underling'! Stop talking like I'm not here!" Karin commented, cracking her knuckles from how tight her fists were. "Hey, are you even listening to me?"

Toshiro and Rangiku both looked to Karin. They could certainly see the resemblance to Ichigo now.

Toshiro sighed, scowling as he looked up at Rangiku. "Fine, I'll help Karin. But you better be actually doing the work instead of finding lower seats or even hiding it for me to find later." Toshiro warned as he slung his sheath over his shoulder. He fastened the flower-shaped badge on his chest, securing the turquoise scarf to his persons'. "Let's go, Karin." He grumbled as he walked out the door.

Karin glared at Rangiku, who just looked at her with a big smile. The Lieutenant winked and threw the dark haired girl a peace sign. That was when Karin knew Rangiku had been planning this ridiculous setup since the beginning.

Karin threw her busty friend a bird and briskly left the office.


	11. My Bitch

The walk to Squad 10's courtyard was as fast as it was quiet. Not a single syllable was spoken between either Karin or Toshiro as they arrived into the grassy grove that was surrounded by trees and the 10th's buildings. Toshiro unsheathed Hyorinmaru and sunk it's point into the earth. He sat down and crossed his legs before his blade.

He knew this situation was all Rangiku's doing. What was even worse was that his office, the big window behind his desk even, viewed the 10th's court year. Rangiku was probably spying the two shinigami from his own desk!

"Everyone prefers different position for Jinzen, you just have to find what works for you." Toshiro instructed icily, his eyes closed.

Karin frowned and sat across from Toshiro, crossing her legs and held out her sword. "What exactly are we doing?" She asked, looking at her pale reflection in her blade.

"Jinzen is meditating with your Zanpakuto. This is the traditional way to contact the spirit that lives inside your blade." Toshiro explained, his eyes still closed.

Karin looked at her sword one last time before laying it flat across her lap. "Now what?"

"Close your eyes and be quiet," Toshiro answered in a soft murmur, "focus on your Zanpakuto, visualize your inner world and close your mind to the real world. Your Zanpakuto will eventually come to you."

Karin looked at Toshiro, unsure, but did as she was told. Her eyes fluttered shut and she became quiet and calm. She stopped focusing on the sounds all around her from the busy, working Shinigami and more on the annoying voice in her head. She wasn't quite sure what Toshiro meant by her inner world, but she felt like she would know soon enough.

"Don't forget to breathe." Toshiro advised as his consciousness brushed with Hyorinmaru's. He could sense Karin's spiritual pressure moving to another place. The corner of his lips twitched at the peaceful feeling that settled upon them.

Karin was gone, whisked off to another land. Karin opened her eyes in a new place.

" _Welcome, Karin_ ," Karasugetsu's voice sang, " _to your inner hell_."

Karin found herself in a grassy field back in Karakura town. Forests and familiar buildings surrounded the field. White markings traced up and down the grass. Two soccer posts sat on both ends of the open area. The soft breeze carried the scent of strawberries and oranges.

Karin looked around the opening, her white and red robes swaying like waves in the breeze. She heard her blade click as she shifted her position.

"Where are you?" She asked her Zanpakuto. She heard a familiar childish giggle from behind. She turned and saw no one there. "Stop messing with me."

Suddenly, she felt pressure on her check. Her eyes shot to the source and she flash stepped back. A young boy had unexpectedly poked her in the cheek!

" _Hey, now, I'm not messing with you. I'm just playing, there's a difference_." Karasugetsu corrected. The had pearly white skin and spiky crimson hair that was pulled back into a very long ponytail. His hair almost reached the grassy ground he stood on. He had spiky bangs that partially draped over the right side of his face. The whites of his left eye were black with a golden iris so vividly that it reminded Karin of monsters' glowing eyes. His right eye was a normal eye with a dark iris. His face was covered in freckles. The left side of his face had a scar tracing from above his thick eyebrow down past his nose. He was grinning a white, toothy smile. Karin's eyes fell onto the crescent-like shape ornament that he had hanging from the collar of his tunic.

"You're the spirit of my Zanpakuto?" Karin asked, unimpressed. "You're Karasugetsu?"

" _Where you expecting something else_?" Karasugetsu asked, crossing his arms as he pursed his lips.

"You just….look so young." Karin quipped, squinting at him like she might be reading into the fine print. "Are you even 15?"

" _Idiot! I'm a Zanpakuto! Age doesn't apply to me_!" Karasugetsu cried, childishly, pointing at Karin. " _God, why are you so damn rude? Why do I have to lend my power so someone as rude as you!?_ "

"Do you ever shut up?" Karin asked, her left eye twitching in annoyance. "Ever since I picked you up, you've just been either complaining or fooling around."

Karasugetsu's hand gripped over where his heart was, his fingers intertwined with the white and black robes he wore, like Karin had just said the worst thing possible. " _H-how could you be so mean to me, Little Karin~?_ " He asked with a quivering voice, looking at Karin with watery eyes.

"Don't call me that." Karin shot back, frowning.

Karasugetsu's expression changed, his lips forming into a crooked smile. A strange shadow cast over his face as his monster eye seemed to start glowing.

" _Okay, we can play that game_."

Karin barely had time to comprehend what was happening. One moment, Karasugetsu was in front of her and acting like a wuss, the next, he had flashed stepped towards her suddenly wielding with the scariest sword she had ever seen.

Karin let herself fall into the hands of her newly sharpened reflexes. She pulled out her sealed Zanpakuto and held it up in a defensive stance as she flash stepped to the left out of Karasugetsu's way. The Spirit, however, was able to nick Karin's cheek with weapon.

" _Ooh~! I love playing tag!_ " Karasugetsu chirped, standing strongly as he rested the dull, back his sword against his shoulder, his elbow raised into the air. The sword looked alot like Ichigo's, but even wickeder. The tip of the blade curved back around into a hook shape that reminded Karin of a harpoon. The shape was repeated at the bottom of the sharpened part of the blade. The guard and red-wrapped hilt had disappeared, replaced by a longer shaft wrapped in torn, white cloth. A single strip of excess cloth danced in the wind. The shaft had a small, curved blade emerged from the end of it.

The day's sunlight caught on the sharpened silver, blinding Karin momentarily from her awe of sword. She found herself with the wind knocked out of her as Karasugetsu hit her like she was a baseball with the black face of the evolved sword.

" _Tag_ ," Karasugetsu sneered as he hit his home run and sent her flying, " _you're it~!_ "

"FUCK!" Karin cursed as she crashed into a soccer goal, the handle her sword clutched tightly in her right hand. Her head smashed into the metal of the post as she landed, causing her to swear even louder. She felt a warm, wet, red curtain come down over her right eye as she looked up at Karasugetsu with rage.

" _See? I told you I wouldn't forget what you said earlier!_ " Karasugetsu hissed. " _I'm not that talkative, you just have a stick up your ass the size of-_ "

"So you try to kill me!?" Karin roared, shakily getting to her feet and wiping the blood out of her eye. She heard her Zanpakuto laugh, lightheartedly.

" _Oh, if you think that was me trying to kill you, Little Karin...you have no idea what_ fun _you're in for._ "

"Of course I don't know what's going on here, that's why I'm here, you little brat!" Karin snapped, both her forehead and her cheek bleeding a steady crimson trickle.

" _Really? I thought you were just here to let me put you in your place._ " The Spirit replied with a playful wink before he yawned, bored. " _This game is so dull, you can't even use Shikai, even if you tried, I wouldn't let a little girl like you use any of my power._ "

"Then, I guess I'll just have to be the one to put you into your place." Karin replied coolly, her eyebrows narrowing as she focused her reiatsu into her blade, fists, and feet. The air around her seemed to vibrate with energy as a faint red glow surrounded her being.

" _Oh?_ " Karasugetsu grinned, his two-toned eyes widening with excitement. " _Well then, let's get this party started!_ " He cried, accepting her challenge. " _Show me how you use my sword!_ "

Adrenaline pumped through Karin's veins as the two launched themselves at each other. Two swords met in the middle of the soccer field with loud clangs. Both parties cut at each other but neither party was able to get a hit at the other.

Deciding to switch tactics, Karin shouted a battle cry as she flash stepped behind Karasugetsu and aimed to cut him down from behind. He laughed and turned, blocking her blade with his own, larger sword.

The dark haired girl grit her teeth as Karasugetsu used his weight to press down on her, forcing her to her knees. He, after all, was several inches taller than her, even if he had a baby face. Karin shook underneath his pressure, refusing to let him push her into the ground.

"Y-you're strong," Karin spat, looking up at Karasugetsu with a deadly light in her eyes. His gold and black eyes looked down at her, a smile still on his lips.

" _Glad you noticed._ " He threw back her playfully, his long robe dancing with the natural breeze of Karin's Inner World and the energy from the brawl. " _Took you long enough to catch on._ "

"But that doesn't mean you're gonna win this fight!" Karin growled. Her spiritual pressure swirled around her feet as she screamed and used her energy to push off the ground, knocking Karasugetsu off balance. She threw her body weight down upon him, focusing her strength into her foot.

Fighting was a lot like soccer. It required a lot of fancy footwork. Luckily for Karin, she had years of soccer behind her.

Karasugetsu caught his balance, but he wasn't quick enough to dodge Karin's kick. Her foot planted itself deep into his gut before she swung her weight around and slashed at his chest with her sword.

Yoruichi had taught her that move during one of her visits.

Karasugetsu spat up the air in his lungs and coughed. He was able to throw himself back away from Karin's blade, but the daze left from Karin's kick caused him to fall to the ground. Karin swiftly stepped on his right wrist with her right foot and knocked Karasugetsu's sword out of his hand with her left. She then pointed the tip of her blade at his Adam's apple.

"What was the phrase you used?" Karin asked, breathing heavily as her bangs were caught with the wind. Karasugetsu looked up at his Soul Reaper with a cocky smile. "Oh, that's right," Karin continued, grinning back down him triumphantly, "'you're now my bitch'." She quoted.

Karasugetsu held his free hand up in defeat.

" _Fine, you're the queen of this castle,_ " He groaned like a bored and whinny teenager, admitting he lost the fight, " _just get_ me _out of_ my _face and we're cool._ " He explained, gesturing to the katana in Karin's hand.

Karin shrugged, glaring at Karasugetsu one last time to make sure he wouldn't pull any funny business, and took her foot off of his wrist. She relaxed as she sheathed her katana and crossed her arms. She could hear her blood and heart pumping in her ears. She felt a bit light headed from the sudden action, but she felt rather satisfied from the fight.

Karasugetsu jumped to his feet and he retrieved his sword. He held it up for Karin to see.

" _Fine, you won this round. I guess I'll let you use a bit of my power, but you better not let me down._ " He told Karin, his eyes running over his blade. " _This is your shikai, there are some abilities that come with it, but you're gonna have to learn the basics of fighting before I teach you what I can do._ "

"I thought I just proved that I could fight." Karin pointed out, still catching her breath from what had happened.

" _No, you just showed me that you know how to get out of a bad situation and finish the beginners tutorial. That wasn't real battle, that was just some kitten's play._ " Karasugetsu rephrased for Karin, sticking his sword into the ground next to him.

" _Oh, Karin~?_ " The Spirit jeered, his expression as blank as a piece of new paper.

"What?" Karin asked, looking her Zanpakuto over, trying to figure out what he was planning to do to her.

" _You're forgetting to do something._ " He pointed out as he placed his hands on his hips.

"What?" Karin asked again breathlessly, suddenly confused about what the current conversation topic was.

Karasugetsu giggled, winking at Karin. "Until next time~!" He sang, waving to her.

The soccer field disappeared and Karin felt cold.

* * *

"Karin. Karin! Can you hear me?" A voiced asked from a different plain of existence.

Karin's eyes opened a crack, daylight pierced her corneas, the hideous brightness causing her to groan. She realized she was flat on her back in Squad 10's courtyard. Karasugetsu's sealed sword laid on the grass next to her. Toshiro was standing over her with an unapproving look on his face.

Toshiro sighed, shaking his head at Karin's nearly-pathetic performance.

"I told you not to forget to breathe."


	12. Field Time

Karasugetsu was quiet for the rest of the day, and the following morning as well. Karin's head was so quiet going back to class it was almost scary.

Karin soon realized she was going to miss that silence the moment she stepped back into her classroom.

"What is it like having a Zanpakuto?" A classmate asked her as the group swarmed her like hungry dogs around a slab of meat.

"Are you really Ichigo's sister?" Another question.

"Are you really friends with Captain Kuchiki of Squad 13 and Captain Hitsugaya of Squad 10?"

"Have you learned Shikai yet? Can we see it!?"

Karin instantly grimaced at all the questions that were being thrown at her. She crossed her arms and took a deep breath, scowling at her other classmates. "Excuse me, I'm just trying to get to class, okay?" She grumbled rudely, trying to swim through the waves of red, blue, and white uniforms.

"Now, now, my pupils~! Let's leave Kurosaki alone, you'll get your chance to challenge her later on when you obtain your Zanpakutos!" Karin heard her teacher call from the paper door behind her. The class suddenly straightened up and silence themselves. They rushed to the middle of the doujo and forumed proper rows, Karin amongst them.

Most of the students had their asauchi strapped to their sides. Others had their's strapped to their back the way Karin's Zanpakuto was. One or two of them had them secured to their lower back the way Rangiku carried her Zanpakuto. As Karin casually looked around the room, she noticed that all the blades, aside from her own, looked the same. No one had obtained their Zanpakuto overnight.

She was still the only one in the class who had their Zanpakuto.

Karin's stormy gray eyes fell on Asuga, who was stood next to her, surprised to see the copper-haired girl so close.

"Good morning, Karin." Asuga whispered with a soft smile on her lips, her blade was fastened to her lower back. Kenji was standing on the other side of Asuga, refusing to make eye contact with Karin. His sword was strapped to his side.

Asuga continued to smile as she elbowed Kenji in the side.

"...Morning." Kenji grumbled to Karin as quietly as it was reluctant. Obviously, he only said something because Asuga was silently forcing him to.

Karin opened her mouth to reply, but Amara at the front of the room stepped up to start class. Like the previous day, she started with attendance by asking those who weren't there, if they were there. Obviously, no one answered.

Attendance was taken.

The rest of the day was pretty standard. Lots of continued discussion on asauchi and zanpakuto from the prior day of class. Just even more of the basics on how to develop your sword and its abilities. However, Karin already had her Zanpakuto, so none of this information really applied to her.

During the lunch break, Asuga invited Karin to eat with her, Kenji, and another classmate named Hiroki. Not seeing any negatives besides dealing with Kenji's bastard-of-an-attitude, Karin accepted.

Karin followed Asuga outside into the where most of the students spent their break. Most of the students were eating their packed lunches, somewhere practicing their zanjutsu with their asauchi. One or two of them were trying to perform Jinzen.

"I'm Hiroki Hamasaki." A soft, raspy but sweet voice said from behind Karin. She turned and became face-to-face with a masked angel. Hiroki had the warmest, softest light in his eyes Karin that had ever seen.

Well, maybe not as soft as Orihime's or Kazui.

Hiroki had a fluffy mop of thick, curly, mint hair with white roots thrown to the right side of his face. His eyes were such a dark shade of purple that Karin almost thought they were black. His skin was fair, his eyelashes and low brow were thick and light, the shadow cast by his lips made the appear to be full, and his cheeks were pink.

He almost looked like a loitta boy, aside from the lilac half-face mask he wore to cover his mouth. Perhaps he was into pastel goth fashion.

Hiroki actually remind Karin of a member from a popstar boy-band group.

"H-hi, I'm Karin-" The dark hair girl stuttered, surprised by how close Hiroki was standing to her before she was interrupted.

"Karin Kurosaki, Ichigo's little sister and the rising star of Shino Academy!" Hiroki chirped, his hands behind his back as he took a few steps back from Karin. Kenji was sitting underneath the tree behind Hiroki, where Asuga joined him.

"Yeah, uh, nice to meet you?" Karin replied, unsure of how to talk to this guy as she walked past him and sat down next to Asuga. Kenji looked up at Karin with his chocolate eyes, a passionate fire lit up his gaze.

"What is a punk like you doing trying to sit with us?" He growled to Karin, lifting his chopsticks to his lips and chomped down on his rice.

"I'm surprised you were able to sit with that stick up your ass." Karin retorted, boredly, as she crossed her legs. Her comment caused Asugo and Hiroki to giggle as they began to eat. "Asuga invited me." Karin finished with as she got out her own lunch. She wasn't the best cook, but her days of eating Yuzu's cooking were over. She at least knew has to make something edible.

Kenji grumbled something unautoable under his breath.

"Ah, so, Karin, do you have any interests? Like, what do you do in your free time?" Hiroki asked, sensing the obvious tension between Kenji and Karin. Karin looked up from her meger bento box and shrugged.

"Not sure, what about you guys?" Karin returned the question back to sender.

"I like making desserts, especially cakes." Hiroki answered shyly, his cheeks becoming even pinker. He turned to Asuga, waiting for her to answer. "I also enjoy running and staying active, or else I'll get sick and fat from my sugary diet."

Asuga laughed at Hiroki's answer. "Yeah, Hiroki really likes his sweets. You should make some small cakes and bring them to lunch tomorrow so Karin can have a taste." The small girl suggusted to Hiroki as she squished her cheek with her pointer finger, thinking about her answer. "If I had to pick something, I guess reading a really nice book outside is a good way to relax." She answered. All eyes fell on Kenji, who scoffed at either Karin's question or Asuga's answer. It was unclear who Kenji was currently pouting at.

"Music." He quickly answered in a monotone voice. "My father always makes me perform at family gatherings." Kenji explained as he looked down at his food.

"At family reunions and such?" Karin asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Sort of." Kenji answered as he rolled his eyes, letting the question drop. Now that Karin was thinking about it, she realized that she didn't know Kenji's family name. She opened her mouth to ask for a proper introduction, but the strange look in his eye when he mention his father caused her to fall silent.

After a brief moment of awkward chewing noises, Karin decided to speak up, again.

"Hiroki, are you in our class?" Karin asked. She was certain she would have remembered someone with a face mask from the previous day.

"Ah, no, I'm actually a year ahead of you guys." Hiroki replied, reaching back and pulling out his sword. He had a zanpakuto with a hilt wrapped in mint. His guard was circular, but with plenty of curves to make it look more like a flower or even cartoony waves. He had a little chibi character keychain hanging off of the end of his sword. The sheath was the same color as his mask.

"Where did you get that keychain?" Karin asked, understanding how out of place it was in the Seireitei. She noticed out Kenji's and Asuga's eyes moved towards each other and met.

"My Mother bought it for me when she went to the World of the Living." Hiroki replied, his finger touching the small figure. "It was cute, like how she saw me, so she brought it back as a gift."

"Wait, we can go to the World of the Living?" Karin asked, an image of Yuzu suddenly flashing in her mind.

"Not exactly," Asuga started, finishing her small meal, "Soul Reapers need special permission to go there, and Hiroki's mother was apart of Squad 10, who are usually the ones deployed to the World of the Living for extended missions…"

"Was?" Karin asked quietly, looking from Asuga to Hiroki. Hiroki still looked the same as he did before, not a speck of pain in his countenance. No one needed to explain to Karin was had happened to his mother. Talking about the loss of one's Mother was something you didn't really want to talk about to someone you just met.

Karin knew that from experience.

"I used to play soccer, a lot." Karin answered her original question out of the blue with a shrug. She felt like she needed to switch the conversation topic or else things would go even more down hill than they already were.

"Soccer? What's that?" Asuga asked, tilting her head as she munched on a dumpling.

"You're kidding me, you don't know what soccer is?" Karin asked, truly confused. Did they not have soccer in Soul Society? No wonder Toshiro didn't know what it was all those years ago!

"Soccer is a game where you kick a ball into a goal post. There are two teams who defend their own goal while trying to get the ball into the other team's." Karin explained, Asuga and Hiroki staring at her with eyes full of sparkling excitement.

"Sounds dumb." Kenji mumbled as he finished his rice. Both girls in group shot him dark looks with Hiroki chuckled to himself.

"What would you know? You haven't even played it." Karin shot back at him, her eyebrows narrowed as she cooly at her lunch.

"From the description you just gave us, it sounds like the world's dullest activity!"

"Yeah? Then I guess it'll match your mind set."

"Are you trying to say something, Kurosaki?" Kenji spat, causing Asuga to face palm and Hiroki to sweat nervously. Some of the students who were eating around Karin's merry band turned their heads at Kenji's harsh tone.

"I dunno, am I?" Karin asked, calmly. Kenji's sour attitude was making her lose her appetite. She started to pack up her meal, not looking at anyone in the group. "Also, the name's Karin. Not Kurosaki."

"Karin! Are you gonna go eat somewhere else?" Asuga asked, suddenly worried if Kenji hurt her feelings.

"Naw, I'm just not very hungry right now." Karin replied with a smile, she looked to Kenji with a cocky smirk. "What about you, Kenji? Hungry for a lil' friendly competition?"

And that was the story of how Amara came outside to call her class in, but found them either playing an intense variation of kickball or cheering on the sidelines. It was Karin, Asuga, and Hiroki with the rest of their team vs Kenji and his team. If Karin's team won, Kenji would have to stop being an asshole for the rest of the week. If Kenji's team won, then Karin would have to go by "Kurosaki" for the duration of the week.

The stakes were low, but Karin didn't want to cost Kenji too much for his almost definite loss.

The rules followed the usual rules of Soccer, except the players were also allowed to use flash step for a little extra excitement. Those who hadn't mastered Hoho were apart of the audience. No one was allowed to use Kido or any kind of offensive fighting. Luckily, someone as able to scavenge a ball from the Academy's supplyroom. Karin's team was tied with Kenji's, but currently one of Karin's teammates had possession of the ball.

"What in the world-?" Amara asked herself as the students zoomed by her, passing the ball from one another until it reached Karin.

Karin was only a few yards from the makeshift goal post. She carefully steadied her breath as her feet beat against the ground. The final, winning goal was in sight!

"You're not going to get past me, Kurosaki!" Kenji shouted from her left and swooped into steal the ball. Karin grit her teeth as the dark haired boy flash stepped in front of her and kicked the ball out of Karin's gasp. He landed behind Karin and ran in the opposite direction. Karin quickly pivoted and flash stepped after him, her offensive back up following her lead.

"I'm **_going_ **to **_win_ **this match!" Kenji promised as he got closer to the other team's goal. Hiroki was the acting goalie for Karin's team, Asuga was on defense.

Kenji being the 'team' player he was, rushed through the opposing defense by himself, leaving his support in the dust. He cried out as he gave the ball a hard kick towards the goal. Hiroki positioned himself to block the ball, but it was Asuga who blocked the ball with her body.

She made a choking sound as the ball hit her square in the chest and left her coughing as she worked through the lack of air in her lungs. Even though she clearly wasn't in the best position, she kicked the ball back past Kenji towards Karin.

"Thanks!" Karin cried as she regained possession of the ball and turned around. Kenji cursed, briefly looking to Asuga as she hunched over, before running back over to the ball.

Karin sprinted at full speed towards Kenji's team's goal. With a couple of flash steps, she was able to break the defense line. She made eye contact with the opposing goalie and kicked the ball with all of her might. Just as she sensed Kenji's spiritual pressure come up behind her, the ball shot passed the goalie so fast it seemed to teleport.

Instantly, Karin's, Asuga's, and Hiroki's team broke out into shouts of joy. Aside from Kenji, the other team cheered on Karin's team. Kenji just stared at Karin, his mouth open like he was trying to catch flies. Karin turned at met his gaze, smirking.

"So, 'Karin' it is, huh?" Karin asked Kenji, acnolowging her victory with out rubbing it in his face too much. Kenji curled his upper lip back into a snarl as hot air screeched through his teeth. Karin was both not surprised by his reaction to her teasing, but also shocked by the harsh look he had given her.

Kenji had obviously not liked her since he first laid eyes on her, but he had never given her a look that harsh before.

The boy shoved past Karin and stomped towards the entrance of their building.

"Kenji, wait-!" Karin called after him, but he was already gone. She frowned, feeling her heart sink down into her stomach. Yeah, she wanted to take him down a peg, but she didn't mean to hurt him or his ego as badly as she guess she did.

"He'll get over it," Asuga said, suddenly next to Karin. Her hand was on her chest where the ball had hit her. "He's really competitive and doesn't like losing."

"Are you alright?" Karin asked, switching her attention from the jerk to her friend. "He kicked that ball pretty hard."

"It's nothing, I'm good." Asuga replied, smiling to Karin in an assuring way. "Hiroki patched me up once you scored the winning goal, his class has already learned basic healing kido." She explained, gesturing to the mint boy who was still swimming through the crowd of cheering students.

"That's good." Karin replied as Amara and the other teachers called everyone inside back to class.

"Come on, let's head back." Asuga suggested as she waved good-bye to Hiroki. She then grabbed Karin by the wrist and almost playfully lead her back inside the academy.

* * *

Two big doors opened from the dark, outside into the lit area inside of a mansion. A dark haired boy with chocolate eyes stepped into the foyer of his family's estate. He walked down the long hallway that lead to his room. He left his asauchi on his desk and changed from his blue and white uniform into a yukata.

"Young Kenji, your father would like to see you." A servant said from the other side of the young shinigami's decorated door.

"I'll be right there." Kenji answered obediently as he finished tying his belt. A white whirlpool symbol was painted over his left breast of his red patterned yukata.

Kenji once again found himself walking down a hallway in his seemingly empty house. He had no brothers, and he had no sisters. The closest relatives he had were dead, missing, or outcasted. The only people who lived in his family's grand estate had been him, his father, his mother, and his servants. It took his father several years to make himself the head of the clan, but he had done it.

"Father, can I come in?" Kenji asked a large, sliding, paper door, bowing his head as his hand touched it's polished, wooden surface.

"Come in." A deep voice answer simply.

Kenji sighed quietly and opened the door, stepped inside, and closed it behind him. There was a small red carpet leading to a fancy wooden chair. An older man with deep circles sat in it. His long, black hair was pulled back into a high bun. His jaw was long and strong. He wore exquisite white clothes with a red symbol that matched Kenji's on his chest. His dark eyes were glassy slits that challenged anyone who dared to meet their gaze.

"What can I do for you, Father?" Kenji asked, getting down on his knees before the man.

"How did you do in class today?"

"I did fine." Kenji replied simply.

"And the Kurosaki girl?"

"...I lost to her in a game."

The man stood up, looking down at Kenji. He stepped down from his perch and got down on his knees before his son.

"Father, it was just a game." Kenji explained, not looking his father in the eyes. The man scowled at his son, his deep gaze staring into the top of Kenji's head.

Kenji jumped as he felt fingers suddenly claw themselves into his hair. They intertwined with his ponytail.

"You are a disgrace if you lose to someone like her."

"I understand, Father." Kenji breathed, wincing as his father's fingers broke strands of his hair. "I'm sorry for-" He started before the pressure strengthened momentarily and then lifted. Kenji swallowed hard as he looked up to see the current head of his clan walk back to his chair.

"You can disgrace yourself all you like, but if you do that, you will bring disgrace to our clan as well." The man growled coldly as he sat down. "Our clan has already suffered enough scorn due to that girl's foolish father, fallen clan members, and the disgracefully last head of this clan."

"I understand, Father." Kenji repeated, looking back at the red carpet beneath his knees. His neck was sore from the pressure of his father's hand against his head. He balled his fists against his knees. "I am watching Kurosaki closely, I won't let someone with that name surpass the next head of our clan." He promised, his fingernails cutting into his palms. "She may already have obtained her Zanpakuto, but I will be the next to do so in my class."

The man in the chair looked down at his son with the same, stone faced expression. "Good. Together, we will continue to build the Shiba clan until it reaches its former glory, and even then we will build it even more."

Kenji stood up and bowed to his father politely. "I promise I will make our clan one of the Four Great Noble families, and ridding a name like 'Kurosaki' from our family history is the first step."

* * *

That's it for this update~ Thank you guys for the new follows/favorites~ Please leave me reviews, I love those, especially positive ones! It makes me feel like people are actually reading my story! stay tuned for the next update, fluffy shit and angsty shit is going down super soon. :3c

If you're having trouble picture things like Karasugetsu's shikai forum, check out my tumblr. My new URL is kenpachiofsquad10 Just check out the "#my art" tag and you'll see everything~ Lots of HitsuKarin, Shinigami Karin, and other Bleach doodles. Be warned, there are spoilers buried in there for this story, but not all of the shinigami Karin sketched pertain to this story. You're not gonna know what's a spoiler and what's not x,D


	13. Ghosts

See? I'm still uploading this month~! I had two cons this past month and a family emergency so things have been pretty crazy~ But I still was able to get two chapters in :3c

* * *

The next few weeks flew by. Kenji kept his word after his loss. He wasn't an asshole, but kept quiet for an entire week. After that, he was back to his usual antics.

Karin learned more Soul Reaper lore in class while she spent her lunch breaks playing soccer with the other students rather than eating. She had started to learn Kido, which unlike zanjutsu or any other topic, did not come easily to her. While trying to use Bakudo #1: Sai, she managed to not only restrain herself rather her target, but cause an explosion that singed half of the dojo.

She continued to polished up a few fighting techniques with Karasugetsu on both inside class and on her own. She often visited both Squad 13 barracks for tips from Rukia and Squad 10 for advice from Toshiro on fighting. Every now and then, Toshiro offered to spare with Karin in order to help her train. Karin still hadn't released her Zanpakuto yet, even though she did know her blade's name, and refused to do so until more students in her class obtained their Zanpakuto. With this in mind, Toshiro never released his shikai against Karin.

Karin almost wished sometimes that he played a little rough with her.

Things had become a little less awkward between them after Toshiro helped Karin with Jizen, but things weren't like they were when the two were younger. There was no kicking a soccer ball like they were back on the little grass field in Karakura Town. There was not anymore sharing of candied beans.

The only thing that resembled Karin's childhood time spent with Toshiro were the rare teasing comments of Karin and Toshiro acting like a couple. With teeth bared and red cheeks, Toshiro and Karin instantaneously stutter something to shut those comments up.

But just like Toshiro had said that night in Karin's dorm: he had changed. Karin noticed that his confidence with his Zanpakuto was disguised by his cool expression. The younger Toshiro would recklessly, alost cocky way, used to swing his weapon around. The current Toshiro did not hesitate when he lunged at Karin, unlike the way Karin witnessed all those years ago when he fought Yosuke's hollow. Karin also noticed that Toshiro's personality mellowed out. He didn't always react as extremely as he used to when Karin playfully teased him 'short' or a 'little kid'. Karin almost thought that if he did react, he was just doing it to play along with the running joke.

Toshiro really did mature.

But so did Karin.

But at least Toshiro was beginning to loosen up a bit around her. He would occasionally smile at something she said. He even laughed under his breath during a kido-related explosion caused by another one of Karin's mess ups. Perhaps Toshiro was finally getting used to the idea of Karin hanging around the 10th whenever she had questions or when she was just bored.

On weekends, Karin, Asuga, Hiroki, and even Kenji would get together to hang out in Karin's dorm. The four of them were becoming rather close, even with Kenji's distrust of Karin. After a meetup that ended up with Kenji storming out of Karin's room.

The four of them had been eating snacks and casually chatting. After Karin told the story of her and Yuzu's first college party in the World of the Living, Kenji made a comment about how Yuzu deserved to be as hungover as she had been the next day. Karin, being the protective sister she was, made a casual remark about how Kenji should just listen to the story and let the grown ups talk. Obviously, Kenji hadn't learned childhood lesson #1: if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.

Insulted once again, Kenji stormed out of Karin's room. Asuga quietly reminded Karin that even though Kenji had a sour attitude around her, he really was a nice and honorable guy. Things were just complicated with his life sometimes.

After a week of silence and rude gestures from Kenji towards Karin, Kenji's Asuchi evolved into a Zanpakuto.

Today had been a particularly slow day of class. Karin and the rest of her classmates had been grinding Kido commands when suddenly there had been a knock on the sliding paper door. Amara instructed her students to continue what they were doing and answered the door. Karin couldn't help but watch as the teacher stepped outside the classroom and talk to someone who was out of Karin's line of sight. Amara then came back into the classroom and cleared her throat.

"Alright, my lovelies~! I'm dismissing you now, class is over. Make sure you're ready for your preliminary kido exam when we meet back up on monday after the weekend!" The electric-haired woman called, her golden eyes making contact with Karin's stormy ones.

"Except you, Karin, you need to report to Squad 13's barrack right away, and bring your Zanpakuto." Amara added, her golden eyes making contact with Karin's stormy ones.

Karin guessed it was Rukia who requested her presence, but she wouldn't know for sure until she got to the 13th. After a short goodbye to her friends, she briskly left Shino academy with Karasugetsu strapped to her back.

* * *

Squad 13's barracks were quiet when the ebony-haired girl arrived. She assumed that it was Rukia who wanted to meet with her, so she headed down to the Captain's office. She wondered why she was so mysteriously summoned, did she do something wrong? Did Ichika need someone to look after her?

Could Toshiro talking with the other Captains behind her back about her?

Karin shook the thoughts of a traitorous Toshiro out of her head. He wouldn't talk about her behind closed doors, right? Would Rukia? If Toshiro did change, maybe he changed enough to gossip about her to the other Captains? Karin felt a suddenly anxiety bubble up in the pit of her stomach. She still was new here in Soul Society even if Ichigo wasn't. No one really had any reason not to trust her, especially with her breaking the rules to get through the gates the way she did.

Rukia's muffled voice brought Karin back to reality. She was standing outside of her office, but she seemed to be in a meeting. Could it not had been Rukia who wanted to talk to her? Karin knew it was wrong, but she just wanted to make sure Rukia was in a meeting and not just waiting for her to come in.

Karin put her ear to the sliding door.

"I'm not sure I like Karin being here by herself," a familiar voice said, "how am I supposed to know she's safe?"

Oh, shit.

Oh, holy shit in the middle of a park in Heaven.

That was Ichigo's voice.

"Come on, Ichigo, this is the Seireitei. We have the highest security in all of Soul Society." Karin heard Rukia reply.

"And how many times has the Seireitei been in some sort of Crisis in my lifetime _alone_?" Ichigo's voice shot back, sourly. "I just have a bad feeling about her whole situation." There was a brief silence before Rukia spoke up softly.

"It's not like you didn't have a choice to stay here."

Karin heard Ichigo sigh with a mixture of frustration and another emotion.

"Rukia, we went over this all those years ago already…" Ichigo complained. "Do we really need to bring this back up again?"

Obviously 'this' was a touchy subject that Karin never really knew about it. Anyone could have guessed that Ichigo and Rukia might have been a thing, but Ichigo married Orihime and Rukia married Renji.

Was there a missing part of this puzzle?

Karin felt like she should stop listening. She was officially eavesdropping.

She was one-hundred-percent okay with that.

"I'm just saying," Rukia said in self-defense. "I'm very happy with Renji and my little angel, Ichika~" Now it sounded a lot more like the Rukia that Karin knew.

"But, after the fight with Yhwach, if you did stay here in Soul Society, with me..." The room got really quiet for a few more moments. "...maybe Karin wouldn't be dead?"

Ichigo scoffed, clearly disgusted and offended by Rukia's almost random suggestion.

"I _cannot_ believe you're going there." The annoyance in his tone clear as day.

"Hear me out, Ichigo," Karin heard Rukia start. "If you didn't go back to the World of the Living, then Karakura town would have been without a Substitute Soul Reaper. Karin from the start had a high spiritual pressure and was automatically attracting spirits. You know Kisuke wanted to train her-"

"Rukia, just stop." Ichigo warned in a dangerous tone. He obviously didn't want to hear what she was getting at. "Karin made her choice in middle school, she wanted as little to do with spirits as-" But Rukia, being the stubborn friend she was, interrupted him mid sentence continued on.

"Then Karin would have been able to defend herself on that day."

Karin hear Ichigo's feet take a few irritated steps towards the door where Karin was. She quieted her breathing and moved away from the room's exit. That was when she heard Ichigo speak again.

"I told you why I couldn't stay, I couldn't do that to Orihime."

"You're very honorable, Ichigo. That's just the kind of man you are." Rukia's voice said softly, almost warmly. "But it's also okay for you to do some things for yourself, too, you know."

"I'm just as happy with Orihime and Kazui as you are with Renji and your daughter." Ichigo explained without missing a beat. Karin couldn't see him, but she knew he was smiling. "I don't regret anything."

Karin heard Rukia chuckle under her breath. "Neither do I."

That had to be the most fucked up, angst filled, confusing, yet incredibly important conversation Karin had ever eavesdropped on.

It was time for Karin to sort of forget about what just happened and get back to business.

Karin walked back over to the door and knocked on it. She knew the two inside the Captain's office jumped at Karin's arrival.

"Come in!" Rukia called as Karin heard Ichigo clear his throat. Karin slid the sliding paper door open as her eyes fell on her older, living brother.

"Ichigo!" Karin cried as she rushed forward and the two Kurosaki's embraced.

"Heya, Karin," Ichigo murmured with a smile has his hand ruffled her black hair, "hope you haven't been missing me too much."

"Don't get too full of yourself." Karin giggled, flicking Ichigo's nose. She heard Rukia laugh at Karin's casual treatment of Ichigo. "So, I'm guessing this is why you called me here?"

"Yes." The Captain replied with a smile. Rukia was leaning against her desk with her arms crossed, a big, bright smile on her face. "Karin, you have received clearance from the Head Captain if you'd like to take some time off from your studies and return to the World of the Living for the weekend."

"If you're feeling up for it." Ichigo added, looking down at one of his little sister. "There are a couple of conditions, though."

Karin's heart rose from her chest to her throat. Was she really allowed to go back and see her family? And see Yuzu? How would her family react to Karin suddenly being there and then disappearing again for God knows how long. Would that really be fair to them?

"I mean, I do have a Kido test on monday..." Karin snickered with a smirk, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, well, I guess that can't be helped," Ichigo replied, shrugging, "I guess we'll be seeing you next at Christmas then, huh?" He jeered as he mirrored Karin's expression as the room became quiet.

Then the two broke out in laughter.

"Name the price." Karin stated, thinking things over in her head. She really wanted to see her sister again, and even that foolish man she called 'Dad'. She was sure Kazui and Orihime might be happy to see her as well.

Rukia held out her hand and put up her pointer finger. "First condition, you need an escort from the 13th Court Guard Squads, just in case things turn sideways in the World of the Living."

"Even if Ichigo is there with me? And Kisuke and Yoruichi are there, too-" Karin started before Rukia shook her head.

"These conditions are from the Head Captain himself." Rukia explained, her purple eyes flowing over to where Ichigo was standing.

"Additionally, your brother and I talked about it, and we decided that it might not be best for you to have a gigai."

"A gigai?" Karin asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's a body that souls like us can inhabit for some time," Rukia explained, "but you've been dead for almost half a year now. If Karin Kurosaki starts walking around all of a sudden…"

"Yeah, I get it." Karin answered, sighing. "So, no gigai then?" Karin asked, her hands on her hips.

"We didn't say that." Ichigo told Karin as he crossed his arms. "If you want one, Kisuke has offered to create one that doesn't look like, well, _you_. You'll have to come up with a new name and-" Ichigo started before Karin looked at him.

"Why am I suddenly allowed to go to the World of the Living?" Karin asked suddenly, realizing that there was something fishy with this whole situation. "Is something wrong at home, Ichigo?" Karin watched as Ichigo's adam's apple quivered as he swallowed, nervously.

"Everything's fine at home, there's nothing to worry about-!" Ichigo answered with a calm grin as he shook off Karin's question.

"You're lying!" The younger sister accused, knowing Ichigo's ticks. The smile he had just given her was his signature fake smile. "What's happening?" Karin heard Rukia sigh and turned her attention to the Captain.

"Ichigo, you fool," Rukia muttered, shaking her head, "I told you Karin was going to realize something was up."

"Look, I just don't want to make her worry! It's not that i'm lying, everything is fine at home!" Ichigo shot back at the shorter woman.

"Uh-huh, and being all cryptic about it and not telling the whole truth is making things better?"

Ichigo opened his mouth to shout something back at Rukia before he noticed Karin glaring at him. If Ichigo knew any better, Karin was giving him that face; the expression she wore on that day she was sick, tired, crying in his arms as she begged for him to save the soul of a boy that was tied to the body of a parakeet.

"Ichigo, don't answer this question with any more of the usual bullshit," Karin earnestly requested as her hands moved from her hips to her muscular biceps. She hugged herself, unsure of what to do, what was happening, and what would happen.

"...how much does Yuzu know Soul Reapers? About you and about Dad?"

The air became tense in Rukia's office. Karin felt like she put Ichigo in a bad spot, like a deer in her headlights, but the answer needed to be out there in the open. Karin's concerned eyes met Ichigo's serious ones.

"Not much at all, we've all been pretty quiet about all of this. Me, Orihime, the Old Man, everyone," Ichigo explained as he rubbed the back of his neck, "to protect her, you know? She doesn't need to worry about all this spirit stuff-"

Karin scoffed as she turned away from her brother. "Riddle me this, Ichigo, if I couldn't see spirits the way I could when I was alive, like Yuzu, would you have hidden this life from me, too?" She threw at him, not turning to make eye contact with Ichigo. She heard Rukia uncomfortably shift her feet.

"Yes." Ichigo replied without missing a beat. "I wish you and Yuzu never had to be bothered by ghosts, be attacked by hollows, and targeted by my enemies. That's not the kind of life I want my two little sisters to live, but it's in our blood, in our history." The strawberry-haired man answered, boldly. "Yuzu doesn't need to be exposed to this world, at least not yet, and I pray she never has to experience it anymore than she already has."

After all, Yuzu has been attacked by hollows once or twice and even had been kidnapped and brought down to Hell. However, ever since the Tsukishima incident, Yuzu's life had become void of most spiritual shenanigans. Additionally, unlike Karin, Yuzu began to lose what ability she had to sense spirits. By the time she entered high school, she could no longer even see the fuzzy shapes of ghosts or hear them. She had lost her all of spiritual abilities.

Karin turned and looked at Ichigo. The room became as quiet as an uninhabited library but as tense as a world-wide wrestling match. Thoughts were racing through both Kurosaki's minds as they thought about what to say next. Rukia sat there in anticipation of which sibling was going to say what.

Everyone in the room visibly jumped as there was a quiet knock on the door.

"Just one moment, please!" Rukia called to the door, her deep purple eyes flickering to Karin. "Have you made your decision? Would you like a Gigai? I'll call Kisuke if you do."

Karin sighed loudly before shaking her head. "I'll go with the flow, if I have a Gigai and if I see Yuzu, I might let something slip." She started with an annoyed look on her face, "I guess, but that doesn't mean I think it's right." She hastily added with a strong scowl.

Ichigo and Rukia nodded to Karin.

"Okay, come in!" Rukia called to whoever was on the other side of the door.

The door opened quietly as they stepped into the room. Karin's jaw dropped. They had to be kidding her, this had to be a joke. She heard Ichigo groan with disapproval.

"Head Captain Kyoraku hand picked your escort, Karin." Rukia explained with a big grin on her face. "Neither of you knew who you were going to be working with, but I'm pretty sure you two are used to hanging around alot."

Karin's life was officially a running joke.

Toshiro and Karin looked at each other with the same deflated expression.

* * *

I've been getting PMs from people asking about IchiRuki and this story. Once again, this is a HitsuKarin centered slowburn-ish fic~ Any IchiHime, IchiRuki, RenRuki, blah, blah, blah are just easter eggs and little extras.

If the IchiRuki transaction bothered you in this, there isn't gonna be much more than that, there's gonna be way more mentions of IchiHime, but mostly just Ichigo alone as a character. If you did like it, just keep you're eyes peeled for the little hints. I pick my words for a reason. Same goes for any Karin and Toshiro interactions ;)


	14. Pull Back Together

Toshiro and Karin were quiet the entire time that they, along with Ichigo, traveled through the Dangai to the World of the Living.

The Senkaimon opened up in front of the Kurosaki residence. Karin's eyes widened up as the old-fashioned paper doors opened and released the three souls into the world. Only Isshin, Karin and Ichigo's father, was there to greet them.

Something about the older man seemed different. His scruffy beard whiskers were scruffier than they were before Karin died. The bags under his eyes were even deeper. Isshin looked almost like he was ill. He seemed to had done something Karin never had recognized him to do: age.

Isshin was also wearing a shinigami uniform.

Ichigo coolly walked past Toshiro, Karin, and then Isshin. "I'll let you guys catch up for a few, I'm just going to check in on Kon and make sure he hasn't blown anything up again." He explained before turning towards Karin, who was looking up at the second floor windows of her childhood home. It was obviously who she was thinking about. "Orihime is out with Kazui; they're shopping for dinner. Yuzu is still here, but I think it's best that you talk to the Old Man first before you do anything else."

With that, Ichigo went inside.

Karin glanced at Toshiro, whose icy eyes were frozen on Isshin. Karin could tell he was a little tense, like he was seeing a ghost.

"Hello, you two." Isshin greeted with a quiet smirk. His arms were crossed over his chest. "Thank you for taking care of Karin, my eyes and ears in Soul Society have been keeping me updated about what's going on in my Little Girl's new life."

"You have people stalking me?" Karin asked with a shadow over her face, her left eye was twitching. Her gray eyes briefly flicked to Toshiro.

Toshiro didn't reply to Isshin. He just stared at Isshin with a quiet and frosty gaze.

"I'm sure you two have plenty of questions," Isshin started, looking off to his left at the bushes in front of his house like they were more interesting than the conversation he was having, "but first…" The dark haired man started before turning his dark gaze to Karin. His eyes had a weird light in them, almost like the glowed with some crazy fire. Isshin flashed a sparkling, dorky grin before disappearing.

Before Karin knew it, Isshin had his arms wrapped around her.

Too tightly.

Karin sputtered and scowled as she squirmed in Isshin's embrace. Any and all air in her lungs were ripped out of her as his arms just tightened even more. Blood rushed to her head.

Visions of her life flashed before her eyes, she could see the light...wait, that was just the sun and oxygen-deprived hallucinations.

"OH, LITTLE KARIN, MY BABY GIRL~!" Isshin wailed as he ruffled her hair. "I HOPE TRAINING'S BEEN GOING WELL~! HAVE THE BOYS AT THE ACADEMY BEEN CAUSING YOU TOO MUCH TROUBLE? I BET YOU HAVE ALL KINDS OF LOVE LETTERS PILING UP IN YOUR DORM!"

"The FUCK are you on about, Old Man!?" Karin yelled as she stomped her feet on the ground, trying to wiggle out of Isshin's arms. Toshiro just watched the two with a look of confusion and embarrassment on his face as Isshin continued to babble about one of his Baby Girls and how grown up she was and blah, blah, blaaaaah...

The white haired Captain was surrounded by morons.

Kurosaki's were _absolute_ morons.

Karin looked to Toshiro, her mouth open as she went to ask for help. Toshiro visibly took a step back before she could make a noise. She was on her own. Her 'escort' was just going to leave her there with this foolish idiot of a parent.

"Ooooh, Masaki~! We knew the day would come when Karin came home with a boy and a new job and-"

"What did you just say!?" Both Karin and Toshiro spat at Isshin. Toshiro just got dragged into this mess. Was this battle worth fighting? Retreating seemed like it would be a good idea...

"Get off my case, you crazy ol' Geezer!" Karin growled as she kicked her father in the shin. Isshin squealed like the pig he was and released Karin. The young woman flash stepped away from Isshin and put her hand on her hips. She landed over where Toshiro was, her upper lip curled back in a look of disgust. "Chill. Out!" Karin shouted at him, her face red with embarrassment from the usual stupid activity Isshin took part in.

She had almost forgotten how moronic her Father could be.

Isshin was curled up in a fetal position with his back to Karin and Toshiro as he cradled his throbbing shin. "M-Masakiiii~!" He crooned. "Our daughter hates meeee~!"

"You gave me good reason to." Karin snipped from her position. She saw Toshiro's shoulder's twitch. Obviously, he was holding his tongue to say something.

"Did you want to say something to us, Dad?" Karin asked, looking disapprovingly at her father's pathetic form.

Isshin looked up at Karin with an expression that he rarely used on her. Ichigo saw it plenty of time, Yuzu only saw it a couple times after their Mother died, but Karin knew what it was.

It was time to be serious.

"I'm sure you've heard a few things about me back in Soul Society, right?" Isshin got to his feet and brushed himself off.

"Yoruichi may had mentioned a couple of...minor details." Karin remembered. It had been a few months since that conversation with the Flash Goddess. "I'm guessing you have a couple things you wanna tell me, _Captain Shiba_?"

Isshin chuckled under his breath as he crossed his arms, his dark eyes watching his daughter. "I hope people aren't giving you too much trouble over that old name."

"Not really," Karin started, shrugging, "more people have been freaking out over the fact that I'm related to Ichigo Kurosaki. To be frank…" Karin started as she raised an eyebrow and looked at her father, "...it seems that most people have actually forgotten about you."

"We didn't forget."

Isshin and Karin turned to Toshiro, whose eyes were not facing either of their questioning gazes.

"Toshiro?" Karin breathed quietly. Obviously, this was still a touchy subject between the two male shinigami. Toshiro's arms were folded, his hands hiding inside of his sleeves. Based of his usual cool demeter, Toshiro seemed fine. He was just making a comment.

But Karin knew him better than that.

It was more than a comment.

Karin could tell his icy gaze was hiding a storm. Just how drastically did her father's absence from Squad 10 leave a mark on the squad members?

Isshin walked up to Toshiro with a serene countenance. He put his hands on Toshiro's shoulders, who's eyes snapped up to Isshin's in surprise.

"Toshiro, you have done a splendid job with making our squad even stronger than it was when I left." Isshin told him, gifting the white-haired captain a toothy grin. "You have become a better Captain than I ever was, and you cleaned up the mess I left behind."

"I am proud of you, Captain Hitsugaya. I left the Squad in the most capable hands I could have."

Karin could have sworn Toshiro's lips, ever so slightly, curled up into a smile. However, the movement was so fast that she didn't know for sure if it was just a trick of the light.

"And, you," Isshin began once again, turning to his daughter, "I hear you're progressing really fast with your lessons. Did you really obtained your Zanpakuto on the first day of class?"

"Yeah," Karin replied, reaching back for her blade. The sword slowly slide from it's dipped red casing. The sheath quickly flaked away into bits of spiritual pressure. She allowed her Father to observe her weapon. His fingers touched the sword's silvery finish on the blade.

"Have you learned its name?" Isshin asked.

"Karasugetsu." Karin answered coolly, looking down at her blade in disgust. "The spirit is super annoying.

"Ah, I see the family name also carried onto you." Isshin commented quietly, his left hand resting on the hilt of his own Zanpakuto. His weapon was holstered to his side. "Have you learned Shikai yet?"

"Yeah, Toshiro helped me catch up with the other students with the basics of sword-fighting, kido, Jinzen, and some other things. The Brat of a Zanpakuto says I can use his power whenever I want, but I also don't want to be too ahead of the other students with my Zanpakuto."

"Why is that?" Karin's Father asked, tilting his head.

"I dunno, I just don't want to seem like I'm showing off or whatever." Karin shot back at him with a quick shrug. Her eyes briefly glanced back to her house, her dark eyes catching a peek of someone standing in Yuzu's window.

"But you wouldn't be showing off, you are just honing your skills." Isshin hastily replied, looking over at Toshiro who gave him a cold look.

Toshiro already lectured Karin on this. Unfortunately for her skills, Karin was too stubborn to move past her worries of attracting anymore unwanted attention.

"The other students in my class are starting to obtain their own Zanpakuto's, I'm not going to be ahead of the game for much longer." Karin stated, her eyes locked onto something else. "Besides, if I was in a situation I need to release Karasugetsu, I would."

Both Isshin and Toshiro looked to where Karin was looking.

"She won't be able to see you." Isshin reminded Karin.

"I know," Karin whispered back, as if she were to speak in a normal tone, her voice would break, "I just need to see her."

Karin took a step forward, she could hear Toshiro shuffling his feet behind her to join her.

"Toshiro," Karin replied, turning to him and grinning at him, "how about you stay here with the Old Man and catch up? I guess it's been a while for you two. I'll only be a couple minutes."

Toshiro saw right through Karin as if she was nothing but a mist.

"Sure." The Captain replied. Karin quickly turned and went towards the house. Toshiro watched her disappear as she flash stepped into the house. He could feel Isshin's prying eyes on him. Toshiro eyed the taller man out of the corner of his eyes.

"What exactly is your relationship with my daughter?" Isshin asked, his low voice strong in the quiet outside air. Toshiro pursed his lips and scoffed.

"I just help her with her lessons." He answered in the same tone he answered anybody who called him short.

"Huh." Isshin hummed as he looked back to the house.

* * *

Karin peeked inside her old room. Her bed was made, her things were dusted, and her desk was tidy. It was as if she was looking at a museum exhibit. Nothing had moved an inch since the day she had left it. The opened window allowed a sweet, late summer breeze into the room. She swung her head to the wall heard someone move on the other side of the room.

Karin's eyes fell on a figuring laying on their pink bed. They were curled up in a fetal position, their arms stretched out on the soft, strawberry sheets. Her eyes which once sparkled with a thousand stars were now dim and lifeless. Her peachy, rosy skin was a sickly shade. Yuzu obviously had lost weight since the last time Karin saw her.

Karin swallowed hard as she watched her sister just lay there like a doll in a dollhouse.

"Yuzu…" Karin whimpered as she knelt by the bed and looked into her sisters eyes. Karin could see her own reflection, but she knew Yuzu couldn't even process Karin's presence. Her eyes just stared blankly right through Karin to the other side of the room. Karin felt as if someone was choking her, her throat suddenly became dry and tight.

"Oh, Yuzu, what happened to you?" Karin asked, one of her hands slipping up the sheets to meet her sister's. Yuzu's skin felt warm to Karin's ghostly hand. Yuzu gave no sign of sensing Karin, not even a single blink.

"She's been like this since you left." Ichigo's voice said from behind Karin as the door closed. "She's still working through things…"

"Is this why you brought me here?" Karin asked her brother, her stormy eyes ready to release their rain.

Ichigo's soul stared at his little sisters. They both looked as small as they did the first time they came home, curled up with one another's shuttering figure.

Ichigo couldn't bring himself to answer Karin.

"This is my fault." Karin muttered under her breath, her fingers interlacing with Yuzu's outstretched hand as her eyes rested on Yuzu's face. "This whole thing is all my fault." She could feel Ichigo's deep gaze burn two holes into the back of her head.

"I don't see how-" Ichigo started before Karin's face mashed with Yuzu's sheets. They smelled sweet, like berries.

"Because I left you guys!" Karin yelled. "I decided that I was good enough to save one soul, actually, I don't even know for sure if that kid even needed saving, Then I got pathetically was killed because I didn't care to look both ways while crossing the street." Karin did everything in her power to keep the liquid that laced her eyes like trim from falling.

"N-now, that kid is gone, probably eaten by that monster." Karin grumbled in a low, dangerous tone, as if those words were the ones to condemn her to Hell. "I didn't just die; I died a meaningless death. I left you, Yuzu, Kazui, _everyone_ because I tried to..."

Karin became quiet. For the first time since she was 11, her cheeks were wet with her own tears. Despite her own efforts, the pain just couldn't stay under any longer.

She wasn't even strong enough to not cry like a young child who didn't get their way.

Karin jumped as she felt two big, strong arms wrap around her shoulders. Ichigo's black kimono engulfed her into his darkness.

The three siblings sat there, connected to one another. Ichigo to Karin, Karin to Yuzu.

This was the closest they had been in a long time.

"If being a Shinigami has taught me anything," Ichigo started, still holding onto Karin, "if anything that happened to me during high school has left a mark, then I learned not to hold onto the past. Shit happens, Karin; but none of it is your fault."

"Holding onto guilt is just going to destroy you from the inside out. First your soul, then you're body." Ichigo explained, as if he himself had experienced this dozens upon dozens of time. "It's okay to lean on someone else rather their your own reflection for a change."

Suddenly, the downstairs door opened and shut.

"We're home!" Orihime's motherly, angelic voice called. "Kazui, can you please help me put the groceries away?"

"Yes, Mama~!" Kazui's sweet call rang throughout the house.

Yuzu suddenly shifted in the bed and sat up, her fingers moved right through Karin's. In a fog, she groggily swung her legs over the side of the bed, her feet landing right where Karin was sitting. She stood up and walked through both Karin and Ichigo's spirit bodies and out her door, shutting it behind her.

Ichigo released Karin and stood up. He brushed off his hakama as he looked to the door. "I'm going to go down and help them, are you going to be okay for now?"

"Yeah," Karin sniffed, rubbing at her eyes as a small smile curved her lips. "I'll be fine."

Ichigo returned her smile with one of her own.

"Good."

Karin turned to the open window. She wanted to go down the stairs like a normal person, but she wasn't sure if Kazui and Orihime would be able to keep themselves quiet about her sudden appearance.

"I'm guessing Toshiro and I aren't going to be staying here." Karin called to Ichigo as she climbed onto the windows' ledge. She could see Toshiro and Isshin looking up at her from the driveway.

"Kisuke has offered some of his space for a few days." Ichigo explained as he opened Yuzu's door again, moving to go retrieve his body. "He and Yoruichi wanted to check up on you, anyways."

"Sounds good, I guess." Karin commented. She straightened out her collar and cleared her throat.

"Thanks, Ichigo. For being there." She finished with. "I guess you showed me your more fatherly-side, huh?"

Ichigo smiled. "Sure."

And with that, Karin hopped out of the window.

* * *

Warning you: Toshiro and Karin are really gonna start boiling in the pot in the next chapters :3c


	15. Trust Gained

Karin landed on the pavement as quietly as she had left Yuzu's room. Both Isshin's and Toshiro's eyes were on Karin.

"What?" Karin asked, raising an eyebrow. The light in her eyes dared either of them to ask her why her face was pink and her eyes were puffy from crying.

"It's nothing." Toshiro replied, clearing his throat. "Come on, we have work to do."

"We do?" Karin asked.

"Yep, you sure do, baby girl of mine~!" Isshin answered, giving her a silly thumbs up and a signature grin. "After all, you're still a student and should be in class! You're still going to be receiving lessons while you're here. Toshiro, Kisuke, Yoruichi, and Ichigo have all agreed to give you private lessons."

"Not you?" Karin asked. "Wait- how long am I even going to be here for?"

"Soul Society has granted us both two weeks leave." Toshiro explained as he tucked his hands into his Shihakusho's sleeves. The black and white fabric swallowed his elegant fingers.

"Really? That long?" Karin gaped quietly, looking back to her old bedroom's window. Would she be able to keep herself from borderline stalking her sister for that long?

Yuzu's sad, lifeless expression flashed through Karin's vision. The dark hair girl released the air in her lungs, sharply, as if a rusted blade had just ripped through them.

"I see." Karin added, bringing herself back to the real world, looking to Isshin. "Hey, Old Man, I've been meaning to ask-"

"AHHH~! Anything for my baby girl~!" Isshin cried, lunging at Karin with open arms. "What is it that you want, a puppy? A new Yukata for the festivals in Soul Society? A HUG FROM YOUR DADDY~?"

A vein in Karin's forehead bulged as she grit her teeth at her Father's foolishness. She ducked down, dodging her Father's hug, and then kicked him in the back of his knees. Isshin cried out as he fell to the ground, smashing his face into the ground, as his balance was stolen from her.

"Hell, no! I don't need anything from you, I just wanted to ask a question!" Karin yelled, sighing. She certainly was home. "Never mind, you probably don't even have the answer, let's go, Toshi-."

"Aww, come on, don't be that way!" Isshin whined, looking up at Karin. "Why do you abuse me like this~?"

"We both know that you can take so much more than that." Karin replied, looking at her floored father with a bored expression. Was he going to start crying like a kid?

Nope. Isshin was laughing like he knew something that she didn't.

"You're absolutely right, Karin! I can take more than this!" Isshin cried triumphantly. "So, tell me, what is your question?!"

"People keep telling me that having the name 'Kurosaki' isn't always a gift." Karin started, thinking back to Yoruichi's warning and how everyone reacted back at Shino Academy when they found out her last name. "What am I supposed to do about it?"

Isshin shrugged. "Not everyone is as forgiving as most people. Some people hold a grudge against me for leaving my post and my Shiba name behind me. Just don't let anyone cause you any problems, you're not who's at fault for what happened."

Karin thought about his words. For the second time that day someone was telling her that she wasn't at fault for what the past was.

That was getting annoying.

"Alright, then." Karin sighed turning to Toshiro. "I'm done here, let's go do that training or whatever."

Toshiro frowned at Karin's casualness. He could tell that she was in the wrong state of mind for what they were going to do next.

"Huh? No bye-bye for Daddy?" Isshin asked in a whiny tone, looking at Karin from his sitting position like a hurt dog. His eyes sparkled.

"Not with you being all whinny like that." Karin grumbled, looking down at her father. He stood up and brushed himself off, the skin on his face still irritated from brushing up against the driveway.

"You're insufferable." Karin sighed as she jumped into her father, wrapping her arms around him. She felt his arms wrap around her, one of his hands resting on her head as he returned her embrace.

As quickly as she initiated it, Karin broke from the hug.

"See! You do love your dear ol' man!" Isshin cried. "Masakiiiii~ I haven't failed as a single father yet~!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Karin called back to him as she joined Toshiro. She wasn't much of a huggy person, but her death had to be rough not only on Yuzu and Ichigo, but her father as well.

"So cold! My little Karin is just so cold to me!" The father sobbed, idiotically.

"Let's go for real this time, Toshiro." Karin said to Toshiro, grinning at Captain.

"What are you going to be doing with my daughter anyways, Captain Hitsugaya?" Isshin asked, raising a thick, dark eyebrow as he swiping his hair back with one of his hands, pointing dramatically at the young, white haired man. "Nothing too indecent in public, right?"

Toshiro's left eye twitched. He wasn't even going to dignify that remark with a reaction.

Kurosaki's were so….strange. He reached into the folds of his uniform and pulled out a small rectangular shape as Karin scolded Isshin with the side of her foot for his inappropriate comment. He flipped open the phone and looked down a the screen.

"Karin and I are going on patrol." Toshiro explained as he began typing onto the phone. "Hollow activity has been relatively quiet in Karakura town these past few weeks, so we shouldn't run into anything too exciting. Don't worry about her too much."

Isshin narrowed his eyes at Toshiro, giving him a serious look. Karin noticed that Toshiro's expression harded as well. The sudden and silent exchange that playout before her left her with nothing but confusion.

"Let's move on, Karin." Toshiro ordered before turning and walking away from the Clinic.

" _Boys_." Karin groaned as she rolled her eyes, running after Toshiro.

* * *

Hyorinmaru's metallic presence easily sliced through the second hollow that evening since leaving the Kurosaki residence. Toshiro stood in a cloud of ash as the hollow's mask and body disintegrated into nothing.

Karin watched Toshiro with unimpressed eyes as he walked back over to her. They found this one in the Karakura Town park. Luckily, there had not been anyone around because it was getting late. All of the kids must had been finishing their homework and going off to bed.

"Do you think you can handle the next one we come across?" Toshiro asked her, sheathing his sword behind him. His plum scabbard materialized and pierced itself together around Hyorinmaru's blade. "If we come across another one. Two hollows in one evening is quite eventful for a town like this."

"I mean, yeah, I could," Karin replied, her red and white uniform swaying with the tempo of the wind's dance. Karasugetsu's crimson handle was in her right hand, steady.

"Toshiro, why do you kill hollows?"

"I exterminate hollows because we, as Shinigami, are allowing their souls to be purified and finally crossover to Soul-" Toshiro started as he whipped his Soul Phone back out to continue his report.

"No, I know the job description." Karin cut off, frowning at his inital response."Why do you, _Toshiro Hitsugaya_ , fight hollows?" Karin asked with a little more feeling. "Why did you decided to become a Captain?"

Toshiro looked up from his screen, his winter-green eyes frozen to Karin's cloudy ones.

"I don't see why you need to know these things."

"We've known each other for a while now, but I still don't know a whole lot about you." Karin pointed out casually. "And I'm not talking about the few times we hung out before the little time skip, but since I died."

"Why are you suddenly so intent on learning about me?" Toshiro asked, his child-like irritation showing.

"It's only fair." Karin complained, throwing her sword's tip into the ground and crossing her arms. "If you know just about everything about me, enough to make full reports of me to send back to the other Captains, my Father, and Ichigo, then I should know a couple things about you."

Karin watched as Toshiro's eyes seemed to brightened with realization for a brief moment. He turned his face away from Karin and to the sky, his eyelids fluttering shut.

"Besides, it's not like Rangiku is here to spy. We're all alone." Karin added, staring at Toshiro, waiting patiently for her answer.

Toshiro's icy gaze once again flickered back to Karin. Toshiro quietly stared at her, as if he was waiting for her to change her mind or start mocking him.

Karin stared back at him with an expecting look.

"Trust me like I trust you, Toshiro."

Toshiro's chest heaved for a moment, as if his heart skipped a beat. He wasn't expecting her to say something like that. Toshiro scoffed and turned away from Karin, looking back to his phone.

"You idiot," He started, "of course I trust you." He murmured so quietly that the night's breeze ate his words.

Both Karin and Toshiro jumped as his phone beeped urgently.

"A hollow?" Karin asked, changing the subject. Toshiro would let her in when he was ready.

"Yes, follow me." Toshiro replied, turning and beginning to run in a direction as he looked down at his phone.

The stats on this hollow were unusual.

This wasn't a normal hollow.

Could be a Menos Grande?

Toshiro's eyes widened. The single disappeared on his phone, the beeping stopped.

Toshiro's feet stopped moving so instantaneously that Karin almost ran into him.

"Ah, shit! Why would you stop like that-?" Karin exclaimed as she jammed on the breaks. She noticed the strange expression on Toshiro's face. Was that fear? Worry? "Toshiro, what's wrong? Did it go away?"

Toshiro couldn't feel any unusual spiritual pressure around them. His turquoise eyes were glued to the screen like a obsessed dork reading crappy fanfiction.

"...Toshiro?" Karin whispered, looking at him. Karasugetsu was clenched in her hand.

The phone suddenly began screaming at them. Toshiro threw back his hand and ripped Hyorinmaru from its sheath. The map of Karakura town lit up as the hollow moved around, seeming as if the phone was malfunctioning.

"TOSHIRO!" Karin screamed as contact was made.

No time was available for a warning.

Bodies moved.

A roar followed.

Blood splashed.

Metal clanged.

White, boney claws tore through Karin's left arm as she flash stepped in front of Toshiro's exposed back. Blood droplets flew through the air like confetti. Karasugetsu raked across the hollow's chest, tossing monster blood off to the side.

Toshiro's eyes widened even more as he turned to watch Karin's injury appear. The hollow was massive, a monkey-like creature. It's mask was complete with fangs and green markings. It wielded two sets of terrifying claws and a tail with club-like armor covering it, making it a weapon.

"Karin, get back!" Toshiro ordered as he stepped forward. This hollow was more than she could handle.

"No, you stay back!" Karin snapped, not looking back at Toshiro. Blood flowed down from her biceps like ribbons. Crimson droplets traced down her fingers and rained down onto the ground beneath Karin's feet. Her sleeve hung by a few threads.

"Damn it, Kurosaki, that is an ORDER! This isn't the time to play around! This one isn't like the other two!" Toshiro bellowed, sliding his left foot backward into a fighting position. Both of his hands were on Hyorinmaru's hilt as blue spirit energy swirled around him and his blade. "Reign over the-"

"FUCK OFF WITH THAT!" Karin yelled., extending her arm and blade in front of Toshiro. "You said the next one is mine, and this is the next hollow! Let me do this." Karin requested in a harsh tone, looking back at Toshiro with a cocky grin.

"Toshiro, put your trust in me. I can handle this!"

Toshiro felt like he took a hit to the chest with that one remark. It was very rare for people to talk back to him, especially when he gave an order.

He liked the determined part of Karin.

But he wished that she wasn't so brash.

"Fine," Toshiro spat, standing down, his sword still drawn, "but I will intervene if you make a wrong move." He wanted to say other things, but there was no time.

The hollow shrieked and thrust it's fists down towards Karin. The shinigami student lifted her sword over her head and released her contained spiritual pressure.

" _Hey, Karin, you should release me._ " Karasugetsu's young voice whispered in Karin's ear. " _Now would be a good time to test drive my power, after all, I_ guess _you're ready to wield me properly._ "

"That's what I'm riding on." Karin whispered back, the hollow's fists pressing down on Karin's sword. The metal pierced it's boney armor and cut into the beast. "What do you need me to do?"

She couldn't see him, but she knew Karasugetsu was smirking.

" _Call me out._ "

Karin closed her eyes and focused her energy into her blade. The hollow roared in pain as the sealed sword cut straight through its hands.

Toshiro watched Karin in absolute awe. The air around Karin crackled and shook with red reiatsu. Karin's red spirit energy engulfed her and her zanpakuto. Toshiro grit his teeth as he watched her. The raw power that flowed from her was unsurprisingly intense.

" _ **Rise and fall, Karasugetsu**_."

Karin could hear Karasugetsu cackling with excitement as she released the sword for the first time.

Toshiro saw a terrifying hooked blade rise out of the red mist. Suddenly, the hollow and it's mask were sliced into two perfect halves.

Karin emerged from the red, moving towards Toshiro, still blood dripping from her injured arm. She rested the flat part of her sword across her right shoulder, looking towards Toshiro.

"See? Told you I could do it." Karin exclaimed with a smirk. She hadn't even broken a sweat. She suddenly gave Toshiro a look of disgust.

"He's laughing at me." Karin complained, sourly.

"Who's laughing at you?" Toshiro asked, raising an light eyebrow. Had she hit her head in addition to the wound on her arm?

"Karasugetsu. He thinks my release command for him is stupid." Karin explained, glaring at her sword's black surface.

"If he really thought it was ridiculous, he wouldn't have answered to it."

Karin laughed at Toshiro's point. "Hear that, brat? I know you did, you stopped laughing!" Karin taunted, jiggling the hilt of her massive sword a bit.

Toshiro smiled quietly. It was good to hear Karin laugh again.

"I'm sorry, for not trusting you right away." Toshiro murmured to Karin, softly. He place Hyorinmaru behind him. Karin looked up from her blade's surface, confused.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you over Karasugetsu's bitchy comments." Karin explain with a weak shrug.

"Let's get you cleaned up." Toshiro pretended to repeat, beginning to move on without Karin.

"Hey, Toshiro! Wait up!" Karin called as Karasugetsu's released forum faded away and Karin sheathed the blade.


	16. Healing Touch

"Are we really staying at Kisuke's?" Karin asked no one in particular, holding her hand protectively over her injury. "Some of the stories Ichigo has told me about him has me a bit on edge, now that I'm a Shinigami and all."

"You're _just_ learning to be a Shinigami, Karin;" Toshiro corrected in an annoyed tone without looking back at her. Unfortunately, Toshiro was was the only one there, so he had to humor her questions. "you don't have anything to worry about."

"Well, 'cuse me!" Karin huffed pursing her lower lip towards Toshiro as she rolled her eyes. "I think I proved just a few minutes ago that I'm pretty far along, much farther than most in my class."

"Then let's see some Kido, then." Toshiro replied coolly with a smirk, looking at her through the corner of his eye.

"...low blow." Karin grouched. "I thought we were more mature than those shitty comebacks." Toshiro didn't say anything back to Karin, leaving her to roll her eyes. "So, what happened to patrol?"

"We finished it. Your brother and the shinigami who are stationed here can continue protecting this town," Toshiro explained, "my main mission is escorting you, and you're injured. Besides, I think you've had enough training for one night."

Karin scoffed, crossing her arms.

"What are you, my Old Man?" Karin huffed, raising an eyebrow at Toshiro. "I can take care of myself, this is just a scratch, I probably won't even need stitches." Karin lied, knowing full well that she did need them for a wound that deep. "I did go to med school you know-"

"I know you can take care of yourself, I've always known that," Toshiro cut Karin off, continuing his silent footsteps, "but that doesn't mean I shouldn't help you. Maybe obtaining the ability to protect others is why I became a shinigami."

"That's not cliche enough for someone like you," Karin teased, smirking as she threw her good arm around Toshiro's shoulder, "sorry, but I don't quite believe that to be the reason why you're apart of the Gotei 13."

Toshiro turned his head a few degrees towards Karin. They were so close, he could feel the warmth from Karin's breath on his face. Karin didn't look to think anything of personal space. She wasn't awkward about the lack of air between them. The walked a few steps, savoring into each other's closeness, before Karin looked ahead and jumped up, releasing Toshiro from her half embrace.

"Look, there's hat-and-clogs' candy shop!" Karin exclaimed.

As if on cue, someone opened the door to the two souls.

"Welcome back, Miss. Karin~! Captain Hitsugaya~!" A messy, blonde-haired man called out to Karin. He wore a deep, forest green outfit with a white and green hat to match. His brown eyes were droopy and bambi-like. His strong chin was decorated with bits of a stubble. He also wore traditional geta sandals. "It's been a while, please, come right on in!" Kisuke welcomed the two shinigami.

"Thank you for having us, Kiske." Karin responded, allowing Kisuke to lead them inside. Usually, Karin would ask to referred to as simply and casually as possible, but Kisuke did what he wanted. There was no point.

"Hrm? Are you hurt?" Kisuke asked Karin as she walked past him.

"It's not that bad, I can take care of it." Karin told him with a grin. "I just need some clean water and-"

"I can heal her." Toshiro interrupted, casually folding his arms across his chest. Karin's eyes flickered to Toshiro, not surprised, but not used to him caring so much about her.

Karin wanted to tease him or brush him and his kindness off, but she held her tongue.

"Well, alright, alright, _alright_ , then." Kisuke sang, whipping out a folding fan and holding it in front of his face. His eyes were shielded by the shadows cast from the brim of his hat. "I guess I'll just lead you to your room and I'll leave it to you, then."

"Room?" Karin asked, raising an eyebrow and glancing at Toshiro. Something smelled fishy about Kisuke all of a sudden.

Toshiro's left eyelid twitched. He knew where this was going.

"But, of course~! Yoruichi and I will certainly not just leave you two to sleep outside. What kind of hosts do you take us to be here at my splendid establishment?" Kisuke chuckled, waving his fan in Karin's and Toshiro's direction. He slid open a paper sliding door to a single room. Inside, were two sets of bedding.

"You expect us to share a room?" Toshiro asked, sharply. "I find that highly inappropriate, seeing as she is an Academy student and I am a Captain of the 13 Court Guard Squads." He explained, gesturing to Karin and then to himself.

"I was told that you were assigned as Miss. Karin's escort, so you should be close to her, riiiiight?" Kisuke pointed out, smiling at the two younger souls. "Besides, she shouldn't have to worry about sharing a room with an _honorable_ and _well-behaved_ Captain such as yourself, _riiiiiiiight_ ~?"

"If he knows what's best for him I shouldn't have to." Karin joked, elbowing Toshiro in the side before entering the room. Toshiro just stood there, gaping with reddening cheeks as he glared at Kisuke.

Damn Kisuke.

"Do you two need anything for right now?" The man dressed in green asked, clearly amused by Toshiro and Karin's reactions.

"Some needle and thread, and something to drink if that is alright." Karin called from inside the room, tugging at her bloody sleeve.

"Sure, let me know if you two need anything else~!" Kisuke cried with a singsong-like tone, shutting the door behind both Karin and Toshiro. Toshiro stood in the closed doorway, arms crossed as he studied the wall. Karin grabbed a set of bedding and took it to one side of the room.

"You really don't have to help me if you don't want to." Karin said allowed, breaking the silence.

The room got quiet again when there was a lighthearted knock at the door. Toshiro didn't even get a chance to open it before a tall man with glasses threw the door opened and entered the room. He walked in with a small tray with a pitcher of water, two cups of tea, a small plate of snacks, a petite bowl of candied beans, a spool of white thread, and a hand sewing needle. He gently placed it down in the center of the room next to the untouched set of bedding.

"Thank you, Tessai." Karin called. "This is perfect."

"You're welcome, Miss. Kurosaki." The man replied before leaving the room and shutting the door behind him.

Things instantly became awkward again.

Karin scoffed and rolled her eyes. A thin trickle of blood dripped down her arm and off of her fingers. Three drops of blood fell to the floor like crimson tears.

"Damn it." Karin groaned, looking back to her injury. She sighed and tugged at her uniform top, turning away from Toshiro. Toshiro turned briefly to Karin to see why she had sworn. His eyes were met with her nearly bare back. Her muscles were carved and shaped by Michelangelo himself. Her bloody, white kosode and red shitagi draped from her waist, held together by her red obi and hakama. Karasugetsu's sheath and belt broke the negative space cross her back, split her beauty in half. She wore a black sports bra with a red elastic band around the bottom with white lettering that read 'Practice Hard. Play Harder'.

The only way Karin could have a garment like that is if she died wearing it, _or_ if someone slipped her on in her welcome gift basket.

No wonder she never thanked him for the candied beans.

Toshiro nearly melted from how fiery his face felt. He instantly felt the blades of embarrassment stab him through his chest and looked away. Maybe Karin hadn't noticed him staring.

"Toshiro, you're only making this situation more awkward than it needs to be." Karin called as she pulled her top layers away from her body, her expression as bored as a boar sitting on a board. She grasped the fabric with both hands and got onto her knees to wipe up the blood she had left on the ground. "I am wearing a sports bra, I'm covered. It's not like I'm wearing something lacey or kinky. Just remember where my eyes are and you'll live to perv another day."

" _Damn this idiot…"_ Toshiro thought, swallowing hard. How could she be so casual about this situation?

And then it hit him.

Karin used to be a sports star.

Locker rooms. Switching jerseys in front of unending stands full of people. Going out for runs on hot, summer days.

This was business as usual for her.

"I am not a pervert." Toshiro grumbled, turning back towards Karin, but not looking at her.

"That's what they _aaaaaaaaall_ say." Karin teased with a white grin, before using her injured arm a little too roughing. A sudden pain shot throughout her upper arm and what scab that started to forum suddenly broke open.

"Shit." Karin hissed as she picked up the wad of fabric and pressed them against her would, clogging her leaking arm. She stared down intently at her injury, grimacing at the thought of ruining Kisuke's wooden floor.

Sandy hands met Karin's porcelain ones. Karin's sunless eyes looked up to find Toshiro's cloudless ones looking down at her wound.

"Let me," Toshiro told her, modestly asking for permission, as he knelt down next to the dark haired girl.

"S-sure." Karin stuttered as she removed her hands from the fabric. She looked back down at the open wounds that the hollow had marked her with. She could feel a supernatural coolness to Toshiro's touch through the cloth. He always had a cold hands.

The chill from Toshiro's touch began to warm up. A green light emanated from his hands, surrounding Karin's wound in warmth. Karin watched Toshrio work with a look of awe on her face. Even though his touch felt warm and cozy, something deep inside of Karin brushed with something cold, something sad, betrayed, lonely. but something blossoming.

Karin's eyes snapped back up to Toshiro, her lips parted as she studied his face. He looked the same as he always did. Silver hair. Eyes the color of frozen water. Sun-kissed skin. Tangerine tinted lips. Thick, dark lashes. Concentrated expression.

Yet something about him seemed different; new, even.

Karin didn't realize she was staring until Toshiro looked back up at her.

"I'm done, just don't be an idiot again and take a hit for me and you'll be fine." Toshiro scolded as he stood back up. "Why are you looking at me like that?" He asked, giving Karin his signature cold look.

"It's nothing," Karin quickly explained, looking away from him, "thank you." She replied, touching her newly healed skin with her fingers. Even the blood from her uniform seemed to have magically disappear. Only the tear in fabric was lasting evidence of any injury.

"No problem." Toshiro answered simply as he walked over and snatched up the leftover bedding and a teacup. He walked over to the opposite side of the room and briskly and neatly unfolded everything. He heard Karin behind him grab a few things from the tray Tessai had brought in, but paid no mind to it. He took off his sash and Hyorinmaru and leaned the long katana up against the wall. He heard Karin unsheathe her zanpakuto.

"What are you up to, now?" Toshiro asked in an annoyed tone as he looked back at Karin, finding her tearing her uniform through her blade.

"Fixing my uniform." Karin explained, threading the needle. She began to move the needle though the rugged sleeves of the top layers. Scraps of white and red fabric laid at her feet.

"It looks like you are ruining it even more, to me." Toshiro pointed out as he sat down on his bedding, briefly taking a sip of his tea as he watched Karin with curiosity.

"You'll see." Karin casually replied with a smirk, eyes glued to her work. "It's going to take a while, though. I'm the world's shittest Home Eco. student. Don't bother trying to stay awake later than you want to."

Toshiro's eyes went back to the surface of his tea, looking at his flaking reflection in the rippling green liquid. He parted his lips.

"Whatever."


	17. Trust Taken

**WARNINGS~~! WARNING! AHHHH TRIGGER WARNING~! Factors of suicide is a huuuuuuge part of this chapter. If you are not in the right place to read into that, if you're struggling with life, please skip this chapter! You'll be able to pick up IN THE NEXT CHAPTER where I'll briefly sum up what happened in this one.**

 **please, take care of yourself :)**

* * *

That night, Karin dreamed that Yuzu killed herself. The details were fuzzy, but the lasting effect had rung its bell.

Karin bolted up in her bed, one hand on her stomach, the other over her mouth. She felt like she was going to throw up. Bile rose in the back of her throat, but she forced down a few swallows and took a few deep breaths. The dark haired girl shakily looked to where roommate was sleeping.

The young man was hunched over in a fetal position on top of his blankets. The kanji for 10 was facing Karin. Toshiro was silent.

Karin rubbed at her eyes a few times before getting up. She reached over for her uniform top and threw the newly altered layers on. She looked over herself, proudly. Karin decided to chopped the loose part off due to the tear the hollow gifted her sleeve with. She matched the other sleeve to the same length as the torn one. She then hand sewed a hem into the sleeves to keep them neat.

Karin felt almost as if she was wearing a soccer jersey with the length the sleeves were currently at. There wasn't a whole lot of loose fabric to get caught on things, which was one of the reasons that Hollow's claws preyed themselves on Karin the prior night.

Karin picked up and equipped her zanpakuto and silently left the room.

Karin found herself walking to her old home. Her first home.

She found herself flash stepping to her old window. Yuzu or someone else had shut it, so Karin focused her spiritual energy on her feet.

Karin found herself standing in the air, looking in at the sleeping figure of her sister.

Yuzu's back was to the window, but Karin could see that she was shaking and quivering. She was obviously, like Karin, having nightmares.

"Yuzu…" Karin muttered to herself. She placed her hand on the window, as if she was trying to reach out to her sister. She felt like she was in a hospital, unable to visit a patient who had been quarantined; someone who was as good as dead to the world. "It was only a dream, Karin," she said to herself, feeling weak and pathetic, "Yuzu is fine."

She paused as the early morning breeze flew past her. It had to be about five in the morning. The sky was still dark above her, but the stars were fading away. The moon still watched Karin, but it also had its eyes on the orange peeking over the horizon.

"Ichigo said that it's not my fault, and that I should move on and not feel guilty," Karin whispered as if her sister could hear her. Karin's voice was as weak as the cool wind that licked her exposed arms, "but you're like this because of me."

"Someone like you shouldn't be suffering like this." Karin groaned, looking at her trembling sister. "Not someone who gives so much to everyone else."

Karin's mind went back to all the meals that Yuzu prepared for the Kurosaki's. All the laundry and house chores she performed to help maintain the place. All those hours she logged at the Clinic to help the Old Man.

"She doesn't deserve this!" Karin yelled at the sky, glaring at the moon that smiled down on Karakura town. "Not her!"

Karin's agony was returned with nothing but silence. No one seemed to be out tonight. Not a single soul other than herself.

Karin's hopeless gaze looked back into the room. Yuzu was shaking even worse. The strawberry-blonde managed to flip herself towards Karin, continuing to shutter.

Karin's eyes widened to become full, black moons.

Something was seriously wrong.

"YUZU!" Karin screamed, bangining on the window. "YUZU, SNAP OUT OF IT!"

Gravely wrong.

Yuzu continued to shake, her eyes were shut. Her skin was an even sicker color than it was earlier that day. Tears were streamed down her sweaty face.

Foam dripped out of the side of her mouth.

An empty orange bottle fell from Yuzu's clammy hand and onto the floor.

" _ **YUZU**_!" Karin sprang into action. She threw her elbow against Yuzu's window, shattering it. Hastily, Karin moved inside the house and went to pick Yuzu up. Karin's hands helplessly moved through Yuzu's body like the suffering strawberry blonde was a hallucination. She cried out in frustration, her eyes wide with fear.

This couldn't be happening.

"DAD! **ICHIGO**! _**ORIHIME**_! _Somebody_ , HELP!" Karin sheirked. She heard the beat of rushed footsteps slamming down the hallway. Ichigo and Orihime threw Yuzu's door open.

"Orihime! Hurry, heal her! Please! She's doesn't have any time left!" Karin ordered, her face gastly as she looked up at her sister-in-law. " _Please_ , help her!"

No, no, no, NO, this couldn't be happening.

"I reject!" Orihime cried as she pushed past Ichigo, tears swelling around the brims of her eyes. "Soten Kisshun!"

A glowing yellow bubble surrounded Yuzu, who's movements were slowing.

"What the fuck happened? What HAPPENED?!" Ichigo yelled, eyes wide as Isshin raced the room and shut the door behind himself, strongly.

"She took pills!" Karin cried, pointing at the empty bottle on the ground. "Someone needs to call an ambulance, the Clinic doesn't have anything that can help with overdoses!"

"O-of course!" Isshin shakily answered as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone, dialing the emergency number.

Oh, god, this couldn't be happening!

"Mama, Papa, Gramps, is something going on?" Kazui's voice asked from the other side of Yuzu's door.

"Don't let Kazui in here, not now!" Karin commanded, her eyes glued to Yuzu's face. She looked like she was in so much pain.

Orihime's and Ichigo's gazes crossed. With Isshin on the phone, Orihime using her powers, and Karin unable to leave her twin sister, only one person could take care of the young boy. Ichigo grit his teeth and swore under his breath, turning back to the door and leaving the room, quietly and calmly shutting the door once again.

"Everything is fine, Kazui." Ichigo's slightly muffled voice said. He sounded almost normal. The only thing that gave his feelings away was the slight quiver in his tone. "Let's go off to bed, alright? We can play with Aunt Yuzu in the morning."

Ichigo was the best faker Karin had ever known.

"Okay, Dad." Kazui's voice answered, obediently.

Karin felt her knees give out below her as her weight fell to the ground. She leaned against the bed in a daze, her eyes focused on Yuzu alone. Isshin rushed over to Karin and wrapped his arms around her, realizing how hopeless the seemed to be.

"It's okay to be okay, she's going to be okay, Karin." Isshin cooed to a dead-silent Karin. Karin's unblinking eyes were stuck on Yuzu. "Yuzu will be alright."

Karin knew her father was mostly saying those things for his own sake.

Masaki had died. Ichigo became a Substitute Shinigami. Karin had died. And now Yuzu had tried to kill herself?

Isshin must be feeling like the world's #1 Father, if being a Father meant getting your whole family killed.

Was he going to see Yuzu's blood on that title as well?

Karin heard Orihime crying as she continued to try to save the young woman. The door opened and Ichigo came into the room.

He was crying, too.

Water dripped down Karin's cheeks.

This was her fault.

All her fault.

"Yuzu, please, hang in there…" Karin begged, reaching into the sparkling bubble and grasping her sister's cold hand.

"Karin?" Yuzu's voice asked.

Everyone in the room froze.

"Karin, is that really you?" The feminine voice asked. Karin's eyes landed on the figure of a healthy Yuzu standing on her bed. She stood next to the sickly Yuzu who laid on the floor, not moving. A strong, metal chain connected the two together.

"N-no…" Ichigo whispered, dumbly, his eyes widening.

"Not again...please, not again!" Isshin gaped, as his embrace around Karin tightened. He looked up at Yuzu's spirit, a confused expression on both of their faces.

"Oh, Sweet, sweet, Yuzu…!" Orihime gasped, tears streaming down her face. "I-I can still-!" She started as Ichigo's arms wrapped around her waist, trying to support them both; pull them both back to reality.

Karin stood up and stared at her twin sister, a shadow covering her expression. Yuzu's face lit up, her eyes sparkling.

"Oh, Karin! I knew I'd be able to see you again!" She cheered, clasping her hands together in front of her. "I-I'm so happy! I missed you so much!" Yuzu's spirit seemed to be like an angel standing in the middle of the gloomy room.

"Yuzu," Karin started, looking at her sister with wide eyes, "you-" She broke off, struggling with her words.

"You idiot!" The raven haired girl shouted, pointing at Yuzu.

All eyes were on Karin.

"Don't talk to her like that, Karin!" Ichigo shouted, releasing Orihime and stepping towards his sister dressed in red.

"Fuck off, Ichigo! I know what I'm doing." Karin snapped in reply, a bit harsher than she meant to, but she got her point across. This was her sister, and she had something to say to her.

" _Karin_!" Both Orihime and Isshin gasped. Karin ignored them both.

"Yuzu, why the hell would you do this?" Karin spat, glaring at her sister. "Why?!" She asked with a strong voice.

Yuzu looked hurt. Obviously, she either forgot or wasn't expecting Karin's harsh tone. The strawberry-blonde spirit pressed her back against the wall behind her. She looked down, seeing her weak body on the ground. The lifeless body was still surrounded by Orihime's shield. She grabbed ahold of the chain that hung from her chest as if she was testing its weight.

"I-I missed you, you know?" Yuzu stuttered to explain, pulling on her chain. "I just wanted to see you and Mom again. I'm tired of people leaving me behind, Karin..."

Ichigo glanced at Isshin. The dark-haired father had tears streaming down his cheeks.

"I'm just so lonely, even though this house is full of people, it's full of dead memories." Yuzu whispered, letting her chain fall as she hugged herself, her arms protectively wrapped over her chest. "This place is haunted."

"And killing yourself is going to fix those things!?" Karin roared. She wasn't angry, she was furious. "Do you think that this is what I want you to do? What Mom would want you to do?!"

Yuzu looked up at Karin with puppy dog eyes.

"Being dead sucks!" Karin yelled. "You feel nothing but guilt for leaving people behind, for not living life like you should have. You forget what life was like, you lose your memories, people throw you off of roofs," Yuzu looked even more confused at that comment, "it fucking sucks."

"You're just saying that!" Yuzu cried, looking hurt, her eyes beginning to water. "I just wanted to be with you again, and you're here, and _I'm_ here, and I can see you and-"

"But at what cost?" Karin asked, gesturing to the room full of crying people. "Look around you, Yuz!"

Yuzu noticed that Orihime and Ichigo were crying. She covered her mouth with her hands. Her eyes then fell on her father. For the first time ever, she was seeing real, serious tears falling down his face.

"Karin, careful," Ichigo warned her, narrowing his eyebrows, "you don't want her to turn into a hollow."

"Her Chain of Fate is still untouched," Karin replied, quickly, looking to her brother, "she still has time. We'll get through this."

Isshin started quietly at his two daughters. He wanted to say something, anything, but his vocal cords wouldn't work. Karin made her choices, it was now time for Yuzu to make her's.

"Please, Yuzu, come back to us!" Orihime pleaded, sparkling tears streaming down her rosy cheeks. "l don't want to lose another sister!"

"It's not your time yet," Ichigo added, looking at his sister with the most emotion that Karin had ever seen on his face, "just one more try, please."

"But why would I want to do that if I can be with Karin? Ever since you left, Karin, it's been really hard. Even Kazui was off for a little bit." Yuzu cried, throwing her hands around, agitated. "We're twins, we were born together. Should we have left this world together, too?"

Karin shook her head.

"You're such a dunce, you know that, right?" Karin asked in a casual tone, smiling at Yuzu.

"K-Karin, you're so mean!" Yuzu sobbed, tears tracing her cheeks like little fairies flying over a pond's surface.

"I missed you teasing me like this." Yuzu commented, just crying harder. "It was the little things, the happy things like this that gave my life meaning."

"That's can't be entirely true-" Karin started.

"How would you know? Where have you been these past few months?" Yuzu snapped. Karin's heart sank deep into her stomach. Things were starting to head south.

"But what about school?" Karin asked, tilting her head. "You want to become a doctor who helps people."

"Well, yes, but-"

"What are those people going to do if you end things right now? Who is going to solve their problems? Who's going to take care of them? Who's gonna save them?" Karin questioned, looking at Yuzu, softly.

"And what about that family you've always dreamed about having?" Karin continued, smiling as brightly as the moon reflected light. She jumped onto the bed next to Yuzu's soul, reached for her hands, and looked into her eyes.

"I'm not alone, Yuzu, I have you, and Ichigo, and everyone else." Karin said, giving her hand a little squeeze. "It's my fault you're feeling this way, but please, don't throw your life away for me. You still need to get that diploma, find someone, get married, start a family. You need to _live_. Live a happy life _for_ me."

Something in Yuzu snapped, like an Easter egg opening to reveal the sweets inside of it.

"That is my dream for you, Yuzu." Karin started, smiling at her sister. "I want you to live life with every reason to smile."

Yuzu shook her head from side to side, as if she was trying to shake off the tears. She lurched forward and wrapped her arms around her sister, sobbing into Karin's shihakusho.

"I'm so sorry for causing everyone so much trouble!" She wailed, shaking as Karin embraced her twin. It had been so long, too long since they were able to feel each other's' presence. The two of them yearn for another embrace since the day Karin left for Soul Society. "I'm sorry I scared all of you so badly, I'm so sorry I did this."

"No, I'm sorry for leave you here." Karin said, softly. "But you're not alone, I'm still here. Even if you can't see me." Karin murmured into her ear. "Please, take care of them and yourself. For me? Please?"

Karin felt Yuzu nod against her shoulder. The two girls broke apart as Yuzu sniffled, rubbing at her eyes like a child. Karin lead Yuzu's soul back to her body.

"Okay, Karin. I will."

Orihime and Ichigo smiled, their hearts fluttering with hope. Karin was right, they were going to be okay.

"Now, you better get back into your body, Yuzu, before kill you myself!" Karin cried at her sister, a grin on her lips.

Yuzu laughed, closing her eyes. Her cheeks were a warm tone of pink. Her pearly whites were shining. She looked like an absolute angel.

"I guess I better get to it then," Yuzu started, rubbing at her eyes a little bit more, "but, umm...how?"

"Uhhhh….I'm...not...sure?" Karin replied, turning to Ichigo and Orihime. "How does soul transferring usually work? I haven't gotten to that lesson yet."

"Just get back into your body, like you're going to bed at night." Ichigo explained, looking at Yuzu with a bright, yet sad, expression. "We'll take care of the rest, okay?"

Yuzu gasped with realization. What she had done was very bad for her body.

That was when she comprehended what was going on.

"O-Orihime, what is that? Above me, er, my body?" Yuzu asked as her face paled, her finger pointed at Orihime's shield.

"Ah, well, you see…" Orihime started, glancing nervously at everyone else in the room, "...we can explain that a bit later, okay~?" she giggly requested. Her voice was sweet, but she obviously wasn't quite sure of what to say. Yuzu huffed at her sister-in-law's response and turned to Karin.

"And why do you have a sword, Karin?"

"Yuzu, you need to go back to your body before it's too late," Isshin said, seriously, standing up and looking down at his little girl, "we need you to come back to us."

Yuzu felt her throat tighten as her last, living parent pleaded with her. She felt as if a python was coiling around her small neck. had so many questions, so many feelings, it was all so overwhelming.

But she knew what she had to do.

Yuzu's brownie eyes turned to Karin, Ichigo, and Orihime.

She had to live.

Yuzu felt so ashamed, so much regret. Her eyes fell back on the empty bottle among the jagged pieces of window glass on the ground.

She had done this to her family.

Yuzu was snapped out of her trance as she heard sirens coming closer to the house.

"It's now or never, Yuz." Karin chimed to her sister. "You need to decide, it's your life."

Yuzu swallowed the lump in her throat, her dead heart beating ever so loudly in her ears.

"I will live, for you, for my family." Yuzu promised before her soul suddenly sunk into her body. The chain disappeared.

Yuzu's body began to cough and wheeze. Isshin jolted from his position as Orihime let her shield down, the fairies returning to her hair pin. He ripped off a pink blanket from the bed and wrapped the unconscious Yuzu in it like a burrito. Isshin then scooped his daughter up like she weighed nothing as he made sure her head was tilted away from him off to the side.

"I'll go check on Kazui," Orihime said to Ichigo, her hand touching the side of his face. "You should go be with your sister."

"Thank you, Orihime," Ichigo said, nodding to his wife as he briskly followed his father down the stairs.

The brown haired woman turned to say something to Karin, but she was already gone.

"Karin?" Orihime asked aloud, confused as to where she had disappeared to. Her bambi eyes flickered to the broken window.

* * *

Karin sat on the roof of her childhood home, looking down as her worst nightmare continued to play out. The paramedics got Yuzu onto a stretcher, shot her full of medicine and put masks on her. Both Isshin and Ichigo, still in a daze from all that had happened in the past few minutes, got into the ambulance. Everyone worked like stressed out ants. They were quiet, very few words were exchanged, and many things were happening.

Yuzu had only opened her eyes for a brief moment before she fell under the overdoses' spell.

Karin could hear Ichigo call out to their sister as her eyes fluttered opened. She saw Ichigo notice where Yuzu had looked.

Karin's and Ichigo's gazes met before the Yuzu was hoisted up into the ambulance and the doors shut.

* * *

 **This will be the darkest chapter I write for you guys, but I feel like it was needed for future plot point. You'll see ;)**


	18. Crossing A Line

"I thought I would find you here," The white haired Captain said as he landed on the roof of the Kurosaki residence, "are you alright?"

"Stalker." Karin teased, boredly, her arms hugging her knees to her chest. Her eyes watched as the ambulance pulled away from the house towards the sunrise. "I'm guessing you've already deduced what went down, Mr. Batman?"

Toshiro didn't answer Karin. She could feel his eyes burn a pair of holes into the back of her head. She didn't dare to meet them with her's.

"I'll take your silent eye lasers as a 'yes', then." Karin answered for him before clearing her throat.

"You didn't answer my question." Toshiro pointed out.

"And you didn't answer mine."

"Your's was a stupid one."

"Public education taught me that there are no stupid questions." Karin replied as she rested her head on her folded arms. Her head was throbbing from the adrenaline that had filled her veins. She heard Toshiro set himself down next to Karin.

"Karin," Toshiro said with a bit more urgency, "are you going to be okay?"

"I'll be fine." Karin said into her twisted body. She took a deep breath, slowly letting out the warm air. Her breath against her skin help bring her back to the real world.

This day was only a few hours in, yet so much has happened.

Yuzu tried to kill herself because she was lonely.

Yuzu almost succeeded, but Karin was barely able to save her. If the other Kurosaki's weren't there, Yuzu would probably be dead.

Toshiro obviously didn't seem to very convinced of Karin's answer. He could see right through Karin's answer, he knew what it meant. He lifted his hand and slowly began to reached out toward Karin.

"Are you sure-"

"-Really, I'll be fine!" Karin interrupted him, emerging from herself and giving Toshiro a big ol' grin as he quickly held his outstretched hand back to where it belonged. "Let's go do whatever you have planned, or whatnot!" She exclaimed as she jumped to her feet, looking out at Karakura Town.

"Lemme guess? More hollow hunting? Are you going to torture me with more kido lessons? Am I just bringing you around sightseeing?" Karin suggested as she rapidly put her hands on her hips.

Toshiro looked at her hand. He didn't have to see her to know how much she was hurting on the inside, he _knew_ her.

When a someone uses Kido to heal another, their soul briefly brush against one another.

Toshiro had never met someone who felt the same one on the inside as he did.

He wanted to reach out for her hand, he wanted to comfort her. He understood Karin in ways that most could not.

He knew her.

"Toshiro?" Karin asked, looking over her should at the sitting Captain. "You alright? You're staring."

Toshiro looked away from her and stood up, pushing those thoughts into the back of his head.

"If you were still in Soul Society, you would be having a Kido exam in two days," Toshiro explained, stepping to the edge of the room, "so you should work on that, see as it is your weakest subject."

"Well, it's not like I'm looking to join the Kido corps or Squad 4." Karin threw out into the open, looking down at the ground.

"Not Squad 4? I thought you wanted to be a doctor?" Toshiro asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, but I was just kinda following Yuzu. I wasn't sure of what to study, so why not medicine? But in Soul Society, you guys use Kido, not charts." Karin explained, chuckling at the thought of her being in Squad 4.

Karin actually hated hospitals. She never had any bad experiences at places like that, but those buildings were full of ghosts.

"You've seen my kido, you know I'd somehow accidentally blow anything and everyone up in that hospital."

"I see." Toshiro commented as he got to his feet and crossed his arms. "Let's head back to Kisuke's, he had a place that we can use so you don't cause any major damage to the town."

"I'm feeling called out," Karin grumbled with a smirk, very eager to leave that place.

Toshiro sensed her hesitation, but they moved on. Karin didn't even react much to Kisuke's domain when the arrived at his place.

It became more and more apparent to how distracted Karin was as Toshiro drilled Karin with the lower leveled Kidos throughout the day. That entire day, Karin only performed a kido correctly three times. She never got frustrated with her abilities, she just moved past the failures.

Her progress with Kido had slowed.

It didn't help Karin's attention span that Ichigo and Isshin still hadn't returned from the hospital that night.

Karin's face seemed to glow underneath the moonlight as she took charge when she spotted a Hollow. She didn't release her sword as she slowly hacked at her prey. Her arms worked wildly as if she was trying to break a pinata open with no luck. With her sleeves cut back, Toshiro could see her muscles flex and relax as she raised her arms to slice at the monster.

She was terrifying.

Karin's eyes were wide with a strange light behind them. They seemed to glow a wolf's in the moonlight. Her upper lip was curled back in a feral way as a low, blood-curdling cry was let loose from her vocal cords.

Karin looked like a Goddess of War as she gave the hollow a final, finishing blow, smiting the monster with her unholy blade.

The two later returned to Kisuke's place in silence. Karin shut herself away from Toshiro, hiding behind the cover of her blankets without eating anything.

The morning of Karin's class' Kido exam was also quiet, but far from uneventful with Karin's wavering mood. Karin continued to seem distracted; distant, even. Any time Toshiro tried to confront her about her change in mood, she was insist that she was alright, just a worried about Yuzu.

At one point during a zanjustu match that day, Toshiro was able to land a punishing hit on Karin. She cried out as the back of his sword jabbed her in the side, another strike landing against the back of her legs. She fell backwards, landing on her back, as her arms slapped out besides her. Karasugetsu flew out of her grasp and off to the side as Toshiro held the tip of Hyorinmaru towards her throat.

"Maybe you should take the day off," Toshiro started as he sheathed Hyorinmaru and reached out to help Karin up.

"Toshiro, I said I'm fine!" Karin snapped, ignoring Toshiro's hand as she stood up, looking back at him with narrowed eyebrows. "I can take care of myself."

She didn't realize how harsh she sounded until after the words had left her mouth.

Toshiro looked at Karin with surprise and something else for a brief moment, before his expression relaxed into his usual cold gaze.

"I know you're dealing with a lot of things right now, but you need to keep your emotions in check."

"Toshiro," Karin started, instantly wanting to apologize, "I didn't-"

"-Take the rest of the day off to deal with your problems by yourself." Toshiro stated with stern tone, crossing his arms over his chest as he turned and began walking away. The temperature around them seemed to drop a few degrees.

"Wait, Toshiro, I'm sor-"

"It's _Captain Hitsugaya_." Karin heard Toshiro correct, his back to Karin. "That was an order, this is not up for debate."

And with that, Toshiro flash stepped away, leaving Karin alone as she tried to apologize to an empty space.

Sure, she was hot headed, but Toshiro wasn't exactly as cool-headed as he seemed.

"Fine. Be like that." Karin grumbled to herself as she bent over and picked up Karasugetsu. She hated it when he pulled his rank on her, it didn't seem right for their relationship to be held back by that kind of ball and chain.

Karin straightened herself up to find herself standing on a familiar soccer field surrounded by woods.

"What then, when did I…?" Karin started, before seeing Karasugetsu's figure moving towards her. His long, crimson hair draped behind him like a cape. His two-toned eyes trained on Karin like a sniper looking down his scope. "Oh, hell, I don't feel like dealing with any of your shit today, Karasugetsu." Karin grumbled, crossing her arms as she stared the Spirit down.

In a flash, Karasugetsu's fist collided with the side of Karin's face, throwing her to the ground.

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT FOR?!" Karin roared, glaring up at Karasugetsu from the grass, cradling the side of her face with her hand. A bit of blood tricked out of her nostial. Karasugetsu looked down at her with a happy grin.

"Oh, Karin, look at what has become of you in the last few days~" Karasugetsu sang, touching the tip of his index finger to Karin's nose. "Maybe you _just_ might end up being my bitch."

Karin's unconscious body laid face-first against the dirt ground. Her eyes were closed, her right hand was clenched tightly around the hilt of her zanpakuto.

The unsuspecting shinigami-in-training couldn't even react to the senkaimon opening behind her.

* * *

I know this last round of uploads was kinda heavy at times, but the darkest part of the story (in this arc at least ;3c) are past us. There will be more lighthearted, silly parts and plenty more (if I write it well enough) feels to come~!

Thank you guys for your kind reviews. Please let me know what you guys like and stuff~! I'm never happier to write more if people are actually enjoying my ideas and stuff.

Urubs: I do try to follow Kubo's original ideas the best I can. I'm still working on spelling, but there's only so much I can correct by myself with my dyslexia x,3

Takraii: Noooo, thank you for readinggggg~! I hope you continue to do so and I continue keep kind readers like you engaged ^^

once again, my tumblr URL is kenpachiofsquad10 So if you're having trouble picturing things, I do post some doodles on there! Just hit up my account and click the #myart link and you might just find what you're trying to picture and moooore~


	19. Learn Through Sorrow

Sorry for the weird break, I recently started up school again and got WHAMMED with school work. It's gonna be a rough semester, so I might not update as often/as much as I'd like in the next few months! I am super determined to finish this story, so do not worry~ It will be finished!

* * *

Karin opened her eyes to find herself lost in her inner world.

The lush, marked grass beneath her feet smelled like it had been freshly cut and painted. The soccer field looked like it just had been groomed. She lifted her hand to her face as a bit of blood trickled from her nose to her lip. The pad of her thumb tickled the bottom of her nose as she swiped at the blood flow, smearing the red over her upper lip.

"One swing? _That was it_?" Karasugetsu's annoyed yet annoying voice said from behind Karin. "What kinda fun is that? Lemme tell ya, NO FUN AT ALL!"

Karin turned, glaring at her zanpakuto spirit.

"It's not my fault that I'm just _that_ good." She told him, her arms still crossed over her chest.

"And then that one from last night? What kind of shit performance was that!?" He yelled at her

"Soooo, why am I here? You have some sort of training arc you wanna throw at me?"

"I dunno, do I?" Karasugetsu threw at her, smugly smirking at her as he rested his head on his hands. He was leaning against the net of one of the soccer posts, his feet tangled up in the net itself. His elbows were folded on top of the metal post, allowing him to look over the entire field. His released sword was stuck in the ground beneath him.

Goooooooal.

"I think I just want to beat the ever loving shit out of you," Karasugetsu commented, his alley-cat eyes wide with an unsettling glow, "seeing as pain is the only thing you're good at retaining."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Karin growled, reaching for her own sword as the hairs on her neck stuck right up. She felt like a mouse who had been spotted by an owl in the middle of the night. She was being watched by something deadly. "I'm not in the mood to play around with you today, kid."

The air around them seemed to spoil with the tainting power of spiritual pressure. The sky above the blood-haired boy and the raven-haired soldier suddenly became dark as strong winds swirled around them.

"Why didn't you release me, Karin?" Karasugetsu asked in a deathly tone. "You know you can, you could even keep me released at all times. Did you not even hear me asking you to release me last night?"

"What are you talking about?" Karin asked, scowling. "That hollow was small fry, I didn't need your help for that lil' shit." Karin spat.

She didn't even have time to react as the spirit of Karasugetsu flashed before her. Their noses were inches apart.

"Is that so?" Karasugetsu asked as he reached forward, his hand suddenly on top of Karin's right one. Both of their fingers intertwined around Karasugets's hilt.

As soon as his warm skin made contact with hers, Karin felt a terrible burning sensation in her hand. She clenched her jaw, refusing to cry out in pain. All she could do was watch as her hand festered and boiled from Karasugetsu's strange power. She didn't even notice the spirit lean in even closer to her.

"You don't deserve me, bitch." Karasugetsu whispered in her ear.

Karin felt as Karasugetsu placed the tip of his middle finger just below the bow of her clavicle. shoved her back. He seemed to effortly push her back, but Karin felt like she had once again been standing before the car that killed her. Her seriously injured hand felt like it melted away as her sword's hilt left her fingers.

Karin's body skidded across the grassy field lack a ragdoll that had been thrown by a child. She groaned and rolled over onto her back, her injured hand bleeding out onto grass. Her eyes looked up at the sky as the cloud began to release their tears upon her motionless body. She could hear Karasugetsu walking towards her.

What even was the point of all of this?

"Why are you not getting back up? Don't tell me you've given up." Karasugetsu scoffed as he came into Karin's line of sight.

Karin stayed quiet. Her bloodied hand throbbed with a feverish pain that clashed with the cold rain. She looked past Karasugetsu, up towards the clouds.

"You're pathetic." The spirit scolded, holding Karin's sword in his hand. "Where did your fiery passion go?"

Karin didn't know how to answer that question. She just continued to stare skyward.

"Seriously, it was impossible to get you to shut up before, and now I can't even get a word out of you." Karasugetsu hissed as he held the blade over Karin's chest. He wasn't even trying to disguise what he was going to do.

Karin didn't even flinch as Karasugetsu raised blade upwards. She didn't even try to fight.

"You're just determined to ruin this for me," The spirit growled, scoffing at Karin's pitiful form, "you're no good at playing the Bitch."

Karasugetsu threw the blade into Karin's chest. It pierced through her chest cavity and dug deep into the ground beneath her. He watched her face, hungering for any sign of emotion, but Karin laid there as if she was already dead.

Her left eyebrow began to bleed.

Karasugetsu watched the blood drip from Karin's face, several scratch marks etched into her skin. Crimson petals worked together with the rain's tears to outline Karin's expressionless face. The wounds must had been received from when Karasugetsu tossed her, or…

"Interesting." Karasugetsu commented with a toothy smirk as he cupped his fingers on the grounded blade's hilt and wiggled it. He could hear Karin's gore shifting beneath the blade, yet she seemingly refused to give him any satisfaction.

Karin's mind felt empty. Her body felt numb, as if she had been sitting in a pool of cold water for far too long. She longed for something to happen, to be awaken and taken out of the shell that was her self.

Her thoughts flickered to Yuzu's dead, pale face. She could hear her sister's chain of fate ringing. She could almost smell death as memories from that night filled her.

A glimpse of white hair flashed before Karin's eyes.

Toshiro.

She remembered that pure look of betrayal that the Captain had given her after she snapped at him for the final time. She felt the chills his cold remarks left her.

Did she always treat him that terribly? Toshiro just wanted to help her. Yet time and time again, Karin belittled him. How could she do that to him?

Toshiro was always there for Karin, even when she didn't want anyone to be there.

Karin blinked as she looked up at the clouds. The calming pitter-patter of the drops against her skin kept her awake. The type of relationship that Karin and Toshiro had did not changed since the time when they were younger. The roles had just switched.

Back then, Karin had been the one to follow Toshiro, even when he didn't want her there. He didn't want Karin to kick that soccer ball at that Hollow, yet she did anyway because she had to protect her friends. Toshiro told Karin to stay out of his business with Grama Haru, yet Karin still followed him there day after day.

Was Toshiro finally returning the favor?

Karin closed her eyes, these thoughts invading her mind like bees stinging a bear that attacked their hive.

He wasn't just returning the favor, was he?

The corner of Karin's lips twitched into a smile as her heart lifted in her chest. She reached her hands up and curled them around Karasugetsu's blade. The razor-sharp metal sliced into her hands instantly.

"Hmm, what's this?" The spirit of Karasugetsu asked, hands on his hips. "What, are you finally ready to play, Lil' Bitch?"

That Captain really hadn't changed at all, had he?

"Finally, let's get this game GOING~!" Karasugetsu cried, running back to the goal post behind him to retrieve his released sword. "I'm so happy your start up time is _finally_ done with, Karin! Did you get tired of just laying there in all that childish angst?

"Shut the _fuck_ up, shit-face!" Karin called from the ground, gritting her teeth as she pushed the blade upward with her hands. However, her injured hand was so weak that her left hand had to do all the work. The air around her danced with spiritual pressure. A soft, red glow engulfed her body as she started to sit up. The tip of the blade pushed out of the ground and shot out of Karin's chest. Blood sprayed over the grass like a mysterious mist. The rain instantly washed it away and fed the crimson liquid to the earth.

Her bleeding hands slid down the blade and grasped the hilt. Karin scowled as she glared at Karasugetsu.

"Thank you, for waking me up," She started, sliding her back foot away from her and bending her knees, "but you're still gonna hand to pay for turning me into a shishkabob."

"Like I said before, Lil' Karin," Karasugetsu taunted, grinning at her as he stood proudly with his sword, "you are very pain-oriented."

"And it looks like you are, too!" Karin shot back, raising her sword above her and jumping towards Karasugetsu. " ** _Rise and fall, KARASUGETSU_**!" She bellowed as her sword transformed and she slashed at the spirit.

"That's it, Karin! Now, focus all that pain into your blade!" Karasugetsu teased, easily dodging Karin's attack as he held his own sword over his chest. "Focus on that built up energy and release it!"

Karin roared as she held her sword over her head. Her sword began to glow with crimson Reisatsu, her upper lip curled back into a feral snarl as she opened her mouth and screamed.

"Release it, Karin!" Karasigetsu screamed his challenge as he raised his sword. HIs blade mirrored Karin's, his mouth wide as he cackled wildly. "Release your energy before I release mine and KILL YOU~!"

Karin thrust her sword down, slashing it down towards the earth. Karasugetsu did the same, howling like a banshee.

" _ **Getsuga**_ ," He shouted as his voice was swallowed up with bloody energy, " ** _TENSHOU_**!"

Two waves of reddened flames flew towards each other. The masses of deadly power collided and exploded. The explosion pushed away the storm cloud above the soccer field. Karin could see Karasugetsu's face illuminated with the dangerous red light and sun's rays.

"It seems as if you were able to unlock the easiest of my abilities, the Getsuga Tenshou," Karasugetsu congratulated, pointing his sword at the bleeding girl. "But don't even start thinking of Bankai until you have mastered all of my shikai's secrets."

"Kid," Karin started, breathing heavily as water, sweat, blood dripped down into her eyes, "I wouldn't even dream of it."

"Now, you better get going." Karasugetsu explained, sticking his sword into the ground and crossing his arms. Karin's vision began to blur. "Something is happening to you on the outside, and if you die, I die."

"W-what?" Karin asked, feeling light headed. Her eyelids felt so heavy all of a sudden, like she was having the worst-case of a sugar crash.

"Until next time, Karin." The woman heard Karasugetsu whisper before shadows engulfed her.

* * *

Okie, that's it for this month~ Sorry about the long wait for a single chapter~ I'll try to have more for the next time I upload ^^ Thank you so much for reading my story and supporting me~

Once again, see some of my HitsuKarin/the Fall art here: tagged/my-art The stuff that relates to the Fall isn't tagged, so if there is any you're not gonna know what could be a spoiler or naw~ Just warning you that there /might/ be some spoilers in there but I'm not promising anything ^^

Now to those lovely people that leave me lovely reviews...

Nundica, Thank you so much for your kind words~ I always get a lil' worried about how my writing translates my thoughts, so when people tell me that I have nice writing it just PUMPS ME UP!

Panda-Angel-Wings, you spoil me with all those complements~ Hnggg, thank you so much ^^

Fallen Yuki, thank you for the wave of reviews! So, so, SOOOO MANY KIND WORDS! I'm happy that you exist as well LOL

See you guys next upload~! ^^


	20. The Joke's On

Karin cracked her eyes open a slight bit. She didn't know where she was, but she did know it was cold, dark, and cramped. The only warmth she felt was the liquid that seemed from her forehead and cheek and down the left side of her face.

The raven-haired woman went to wipe the blood away from her eyes, but found herself unable to move her wrists. The chains that bound her wrists behind her back together and ankles spread apart to the walls jangled. There was another chain hung from the ceiling that wrapped around her waist and held her in the air. Karin felt like she was starring in some weird BSDM video that was about to be made. The only thing she could hear through the dead silence was the occasional drip of what she hoped was water falling from the ceiling to the ground.

Was she underground?

"HEY! Who's shitty idea of a joke is this!?" Karin yelled, violently shaking her body as she tried to slip out of her bounds. Her efforts were fruitless.

A thought-to-be-nonexistent door opened before Karin. A familiar tall figure stood before him as a light flooded the room from behind him, shrouding him in shadow.

"Ichigo?" Karin asked, her eyes widening with fear. Could it be? He couldn't be the one behind this prank, was he saving her?

"Guess again." The rough male voice said as he clapped his hands. The cramped space Karin was in filled with light.

"Y-you!?" Karin questioned loudly, shaking her chains. "Damn, I knew you hated me, but I never thought you'd introduce me to your kinks, Kenji!"

The spiky dark haired boy looked up at Karin's suspended form. He didn't even react to Karin's mockery.

"You can't break those chains, at least not someone on your low level. Those links are made of kido, and you're famous for your poor your marks were in kido training are." Kenji explained, crossing his arms over his chest. Karin couldn't read his expression, but it was anger. Disgust was definitely there, with a dash of maybe sadness, but something was off about him.

"Yeah? Maybe I've gotten better at Kido, you have no idea. It's been more than a week since you last saw me, and I've been training under a Captain of the 13 Court Guard Squads." Karin bluffed, grinning fiercely at Kenji.

"You're so bad at Kido that even mustering to learn even the name of a spell is a huge improvement." Kenji pointed out, glaring at her. "Besides, you have been enjoying special treatment instead of being in class like the rest of us. You didn't learn the advanced spells I know now."

"Oh, and by the way, I passed the test with the highest score in the class." Kenji added, his eyes narrowing at Karin as he stared her down like a snake staring down his next meal.

"Kenji, that's enough," an older man voice said from behind him, "someone like her isn't worth your words." Kenji turned to greet the figure at the door.

"Oh? And who the fuck are you?" Karin asked, glaring at the older man. He looked like he was just passed middle aged, with some gray hairs here and there and one or two wrinkles. His cheeks were slightly saggy, but his skin was smooth. The skin under his neck was tight, his hair was neat and tied up into a bun atop his head with a fancy hair ornament. He wore the clothes of a Nobel.

"Disgusting, Vermin." The man spat at Karin, absolutely appalled by her entire being it seemed.

"What did you just say?" Karin yelled, struggling once again to free herself.

"At least she is awake now. Kenji, you were right. All you need to do to spook an animal is make them bleed."

"Why, you-!" Karin yowled, the chains screaming and chiming as she tried to give the men a piece of her mind.

"Don't you dare speak to my father that way!" Kenji roared as he flash stepped into the air. Karin heard the sound of metal scraping against the side of a sheath, and found the point of Kenji's blade breaking the skin of her neck.

"He is the current head of the Nobel Shiba Family, which makes him the head of your father's cursed bloodline." Kenji hissed his feet standing on air. His white and blue uniform settled from his sudden movement to Karin's position.

"So that makes you a Shiba, huh?" Karin commented, her eyes widening. She and this kid were cousins?

"Why are you doing this, I didn't think you were this stupid." Karin interrogated, frowning as she stared Kenji down. "Why chain me up like this? Are you too cowardly to even face me like a real warrior?!"

"I'm not gonna let you bait me this time, Kurosaki," Kenji warned, taking the tip of his sword back from her, "your life depends on that."

"Are you saying I'm at your mercy, Kenji?" Karin asked in a low tone, glaring at her fellow student.

"Look at it this way," Kenji started, his sword in his hand, "you're back in Soul Society on Shiba Family private property, restrained by me kido, surrounded by people who hate you, and I'm armed. Not to mention, your Captain escort or, anyone else for that fact, probably still hasn't noticed you're gone."

"Things aren't looking too good for you, Kurosaki." Kenji summed up, leaning the back of his sword against his shoulder.

"Why?" Karin asked, her heart beating a million beats per second. This was the tenses situation she had ever been in. If she wasn't so sore from being chained up, there was a good chance should would be shaking from the anxiety. Her uniform was covered in dirt and damp stains. Blood wet the cloth underneath her face.

Wait a second.

"Where is my Zanpakuto? Where is Karasugetsu!?" Karin ordered, looking at Kenji dangerously.

"Don't worry about it, your sword is safe with my people." Kenji replied, calmly, bouncing his own sword on his shoulder. "We wouldn't want to make things too easy for you, now, would we? I know you like a challenge, but getting out of here alive might be impossible. Even for a fighter with the likes of you."

"When I get my hands on you and the creepy geezer behind you, you're gonna regret ever meeting me." Karin promised, grinning at Kenji sincerely.

"Is that a threat?" Kenji asked, looking at Karin in disgust.

"Kenji," His father called from below, "put her in her place."

Kenji looked down at Nobel for a moment, processing the order, before nodding his head.

"Yes, Father." The boy answered without missing a second beat. "Carve, Hayahideyoshi." He whispered as energy switched around his blade.

Karin grit her teeth as the spiritual pressure knocked her around. The cold room started to warm up as the air buzzed with energy. Karin's stormy eyes flickered to the man below them. She watched as his lips twisted into a sickly grin as he watched his son and the daughter of the outcast.

Kenji stood before Karin, his sword gone. Two-pronged weapons protruded from brass knuckles, a long, sickle-like fin stuck out from the side of his forearm. The shikai was held together by what looked to be a leather-like gauntlet that rode up Kenji's arms. Karin deduced that the armor connected underneath Kenji's shihakusho in the back so the two weapons were unified.

Karin knew when she was in a bad situation, and things were only going to get worse as long as she was bound by chains.

"Prepare yourself, Kurosaki," Kenji growled, raising his armed fists, "for a world of pain!"

* * *

Hyorinmaru cut through a hollow's mask like the monster was made of butter. Toshiro breathed quietly as he sheathed his sword, watching as the beast disintegrate into dust. He reached into his uniformed and pulled out his soulphone and began to furiously type. The bothersome hollow had interrupted him working on his report.

Suddenly, the phone in his hand began to ring.

"Captain Hitsugaya of Squad 10." Toshiro answered the call.

"Good afternoon, Captain Hitsugaya. How's escort duty treating you?" The nonchalant voice of the Head Captain replied.

"Kurosaki is taking the day off. Her training as stalled and she has become unfocused-" Toshiro began.

"That's quite alright, Captain. But tell me, do you know where she is?" Shunsui voice asked.

"Last time I checked in with her was about an hour ago."

"That's quite a bit of time, is everything alright between you?" Shunsui inquired, seeming to be a little too interested in the subject for Toshiro's tastes.

"Things are professional, I assure you," Toshiro started, his left eyelid twitching with annoyance, "Karin just needs a break to sort her issues out before she returns to training under me."

Toshiro instantly regretted the way he worded that phrase.

"That sounds like pretty professional situation, Captain." Shunsui commented playfully, almost sarcastically. Toshiro couldn't see the one-eyed captain, but he knew the man was smiling.

"Why are you calling me, Head Captain?" Toshiro asked, getting a bit irritated. "Do I have new orders or did something happen in Soul Society?"

"Why, yes, something strange has happened," Shunsui replied, "Squad 12 reported unauthorized Senkaimon activity both here in Soul Society and in the World of the Living. They haven't been able to locate the exact location where it was opened on our end, but it exited in Karakura Town."

"Are they sure? Have they double checked the data?"

"This report is not a question, it is a fact, Captain Hitsugaya. We also know who ever opened the Senkaimon spent only a few minutes Karakura Town before returning to Soul Society."

"I see." Toshiro breathed, frowning. Why would someone come to the world of the living? Toshiro began looking around the area he was in, turning his head side to side. If that was correct, then someone had come to Karakura town who did not belong here.

"Is there any other information on this report?" Toshiro broke the silence.

"Well, according to Squad 12, the senkaimon opened about an hour ago," Shunsui noted aloud, "curious as to that is when you last saw Karin, huh?"

Toshiro felt his blood run cold. How did he not put that together?

"You think whoever came to Karakura is after Karin?" Toshiro asked, his entire body freezing up.

"We won't know for sure until after you locate Miss. Kurosaki, huh?" The Head Captain clarified.

"Understood, Captain Commander." Toshiro explained. He could almost picture Shunsui nodding his head with his signature casual grin.

"Very well, Captain Hitsugaya. Best of luck on your escort mission~!"

Toshiro ended the call and stared down at his phone with wide eyes.

If this business had anything to do with Karin, it was Toshiro's fault he wasn't there to protect her. Karin was his mission, and he let her words get to him. They were both hurting.

Toshiro had to locate Karin and keep her safe, even if they were both in a bad mood...

But…

If Karin was harmed in any way, if Toshiro lost her once again…

Toshiro didn't know what he would do.

He could feel Guilt's fingers curl themselves around his heart and it's nails cut into it. Toshiro pocketed his soul phone and flash stepped away. He didn't have any time to waste. Karin probably hadn't cooled down from their argument, so if she was in trouble she wouldn't accept Toshiro's help.

These past couple of months had brought the two closer together, even if they didn't want to acknowledge that. Toshiro had to wonder if this fear for Karin's safety was really just because of the mission, or because he saw her as a pupil, or even something far greater.

Toshiro landed in the air above Karakura town. He didn't see Karin's spirit ribbon or even sense a speck of her spiritual pressure.

The Head Captain's hunch was right.

Luckily for Toshiro, Ichigo still hadn't lost the bad habit of never sealing 100% of his spiritual pressure. Where ever the carrot-top was a that moment in time, he was there with four spiritual pressure signatures.

Time was of the essence, and Toshiro flash-stepped down the rabbit hole at record speeds.


	21. Ties

Blood rained down to the ground. The crimson tears trickled down Karin's face and body. Red ribbons left Kenji's blades like confetti.

Karin could no longer open her left eye due to the injuries Kenji had inflicted on her. Her halved, fuzzy vision was trained on the black-haired Shiba in front of her. Her wrists and ankles were sore from the kido-chains that bound them. Her waist was raw from the chain rubbing against her as she struggled.

Even though she couldn't see as clearly as she'd like, she could still tell Kenji was having just about as good of a time as she was. The light in his eyes had disappeared, as if he wasn't mentally in the game.

"Seriously," Karin started before hacking up a storm, blood spraying out of her mouth, "w-what are you getting out of this?" She asked the other two figures in the room.

Kenji had just spent the last few minutes treating Karin like a pin cushion. His two-pronged knuckles dug-in-and-out of Karin and rakes themselves across her skin's surface. Karin guessed that one of his attacks clipped her right lung because she was suddenly coughing up blood. An injury like that would had been certain doom for a human, but Karin knew that a Soul Reaper like her would only be slowed down.

"Satisfaction, if anything," The Shiba leader called from below with a wicked smile, "and Kenji gets target practice for wielding his zanpakuto."

"Why make your son do your dirty work?" Karin called from the air, spitting down on the leader in disgust. "I know he didn't like me, but Kenji certainly didn't hate me like this!" Her strong gaze switched to Kenji.

"He inducted you into thinking like this, didn't he?" Karin asked. Her question was answered with another deep slice to her arm. Karin grit her teeth as the blades tore through her pale skin. "He made you think that my family was made up of villains, but my Father was a Captain and protected others! Ichigo risked everything to save Soul Society again and again, which means he saved your life 10 times over! The only bad thing those two idiots did was not take care of themselves!"

"Quiet, wretch!" The Shiba man shouted from below. "Kenji, hit her again. I am getting bored with this charade."

Without hesitation, Kenji punched Karin's right shoulder. She screamed as the two talons bursted out her back shoulder. She could feel her bones and flesh tearing and shattering as Kenji ripped his weapon out of her.

Karin groaned loudly as sweat dripped down her neck from the pain.

"Kenji, get with the game. Yeah, I'm an asshole, but even I wouldn't do this to someone."

" _Amature_ ," Karasugetsu's voice rang through out Karin's head, " _that's what you did with that hollow just last night. Think before you speak._ "

Just what Karin needed to make this field trip even better, That stupid voice mocking her. What Kenji didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

"Listen to you beg for your life like useless scum. Don't waste your breath!" Kenji spat. "Besides, it's not like I really want to do this."

"Kenji, stop making excuses and clean this mess up." His father shouted before leaving the room. "Then bring her sword to me, it's fruits should be just about ripe. Do not be late for supper."

"Yes, Father." Kenji called as he slowly flew down to the ground and landed. He looked up at Karin, who was looking down at him with a passionate hatred.

Yet, Karin found herself pitying her classmate.

"I want to know what your motives are," Karin hissed dangerously, "and if they're not your motives, I want to know your father's."

Kenji looked up at Karin through the corner of his eye. He stood there quiet as he glared at her.

"You wouldn't understand." Kenji muttered, his weapon reshaped itself into a sword that he slid into his sheath. "You may have some form of Shiba blood flowing through your veins, but you are not apart of this ruined family."

And with that, Kenji left the room, sealing the door behind him and taking all the light with him.

Hopeless.

Utter hopelessness.

Karin felt hopeless.

"Fuck." Karin grunted, blinking as she tried to get her eyes to adjust to the darkness faster. She felt shaky. The soreness was getting worse by the moment.

"Shit, fuck, fuck, fuck, SHIT!" Karin yelled, frustrated with her situation. "Karasugetsu, can you help me at all?!" She snapped at the emptiness around her.

There was no answer.

"Oi, brat, I know you're listening. Answer me, is there anything you can do!?"

Silence.

Karin blinked.

Karin took a deep breath, her teeth clenched and gnashing each other like a war.

She let out sound of rage so terrifying that she was positive she made the air soil itself.

The dark haired woman gasped for breath after the long, drag of stress was ripped from her. Sweat and blood traced her jawline as she panted. Her brow furled as her weak state became apparent.

How was she going to get out of this situation?

"Yuzu...I-Ichigo..." Karin whispered, as if she prayed it, as she closed her eyes, wanting to see her siblings' faces. The face she pictured, however, was not one of her family's.

It was Toshiro's.

Why was she thinking about that jerk right now? That boy should be the last thing on her mind!

Yet, it wasn't.

"Fuck that guy...that idiotic fool." Karin said to herself, the corner of her lips twitching. She felt like she was going insane. She was in so my physical pain, she was tied up in the air the the most uncomfortable way imaginable, and she was bleeding out. Yet the only comforting thought in her mind was a white-haired captain.

Why?

Why was she so stupid to think of Toshiro at a time like this?

Karin wondered if he even noticed if she was gone. Toshiro was probably still cooling off after their little spat. After all, he was just as much a hot-head as she was, if not even more so.

"S-some escort." Karin scoffed, her teeth chattering from the chilly sensation in the room, from the pain, and from the nerves caused by the unknown. "Some Captain. Like _hell_ I'm ever gonna call him that after this!"

God, her throat was all knotted up. It hurt worse than her shoulder, it hurt worse than her face!

Karin looked around the room, her eyes adjusting to the lack of light. She had to get out of here, now. Or else she was going to die. Again.

"I'm gonna get out of here, get my sword back," Karin promised, "and I'm gonna rub that shit in that lil' runt's face about how he slacked off." Karin began to struggle against her bounds once again. The wounds that had begun to seal themselves split back open. She was once again draped in blood.

"T-thinks he's all high-and-mighty just 'cause he's a Captain. What a total douchebag!" Karin insulted the image of Toshiro, weakly laughing as she scraped together what little spiritual power she had left. Her skin began to give off a faint, crimson glow as her struggles became stronger.

"I'm gonna get out of here," Karin repeated, throwing her body around as kido chains rattled, "break down that stupid-ass door," the chains movements became more urgent, "and give that man a piece of my mind!"

She focused her energy on those cursed chains.

"Hado number one: SHO!"

Karin suddenly found herself falling to the ground. Blood droplets and sparks of golden kido swirled all around her as the links disintegrated. She felt her hair tie weaken and snap, releasing her long, dark locks into the air.

She didn't even remember hitting the ground. Karin didn't know how long she had laid there, but when she opened her eyes, she was still in a dark, cold, wet, unknown room.

But her chains were gone.

"I did it." Karin whispered to herself in disbelief, moving her wet mess of bloody, muddy, tangled, black hair out of her face. She wasn't quite sure how but she was definitely touching the rock-hard, unforgiving, dirt ground. "I broke through Kenji's kido!"

Her determined stone-colored eyes turned to the door before her. She coughed a bit as she grinned, hot blood seeping out between her teeth and drooled down her chin.

"Looks like Toshiro's lessons have paid off." Karin commented as she wiped her chin on her uninjured shoulder.

Getting out of Kenji's kink trap was the easy part. The next part was going to be the real kicker.

"Let's have a little fun, huh?" Karin grumbled, stumbling to capture her footing and get to her feet. "Then I can go tell Toshiro off."

The look on his face was going to be the best.

Karin felt like a infant learning to walk for the first time. She took her first few steps towards the door, feeling excited but unsure of what this action was going to result in. She felt reborn as she placed her hand on the doors handle.

She took a deep breath through her nose and released it.

Karin put some pressure on the door.

She was going to get out of here.

* * *

"How could you have lost track of Karin!?" Ichigo shouted at Toshiro for the millionth time as they traveled through the dangai.

Isshin thought it was best if he stayed back in the World of the Living to watch over Yuzu, Kazui, and Karakura town. Orihime keep a keen eye on Yuzu's frail state. The girl was recovering quickly, thanks to Orihime's abilities, but she wasn't out of the woods quiet yet. Thankfully, Ishida and his hospital allowed the Kurosaki family to have a triple room all to themselves so Orihime could work.

And, there was another, more permanent, consequence to Yuzu's attempt…

"I take full responsibility." Toshiro repeated back at Ichigo for the millionth time. "I'm sorry, Kurosaki. It is my fault."

"I can't believe this," Ichigo muttered in disbelief, "I absolutely _cannot_ believe we've gotta do this."

Toshiro frowned at Ichigo's words the two crossed over into Soul Society. The Hell Butterflies they had been following disappeared as they stepped out onto the paved ground.

"I'm not going to let you forget this, Toshiro." Ichigo hissed at the Captain, jabbing his finger into Toshiro's chest.

"Karin won't let me forget it, either," Toshiro remind Ichigo, his half-opened eyes staring at Ichigo like frozen ponds.

The Captain shoved past the substitute soul reaper.

"You promised me you wouldn't let her get hurt."

"And I intend on keeping that promise, let's get going, Kurosaki."

"Yeah, but where to? Do we have any idea where Karin is?"

"Seeing that no one is here to greet us," Toshiro began, looking around the open Seireitei space, "no, there have not been any breakthroughs on this case." He closed his eyes. He could sense hundreds upon hundreds of spirit ribbons in the area.

Yet he couldn't sense Karin's.

Maybe she was just out of his range.

Toshiro didn't even jump as a strong hand gripped his shoulder. He sensed Ichigo's spiritual pressure flow into him.

"You might be a dirtbag," Ichigo started, "but it's not like you wanted Karin to get mixed up in whatever mess this is, either. My spiritual pressure is a lot like her's. Track her's through mine."

Toshiro didn't say anything as he could sense even more spirit ribbons. He and Ichigo stood in a sea of thousands of red and white spirit ribbons of other Shinigami and human souls.

The Captain felt his heart freeze a little as the creeping thought of failure pierced his consciousness.

As if in a dream, Toshiro could almost-smell Karin's the sweet, grassy fragrance she always carried around with her as if she had been rolling around in freshly-cut grass.

A glimpse of a shredded, crimson ribbon stuck out of the waves of perfect red and white ribbons.

"I found her." Toshiro stated quickly and quietly, as he reached out to grasped at air as if he was grabbing the hurting ribbon. "Ichigo, let's go."

"Lead me to her!" Ichigo pleaded as Toshiro wasted no more time and swiftly moved through Soul Society.

Toshiro felt as if someone has placed a warm blanket of comfort around him as he followed Karin's spiritual signature. He was no longer worried that they would be unable to find Karin.

He was now concerned that they would find her in the same state her ribbon was.

In pieces.


	22. Captain

This was going to be harder than Karin imagined.

She peeked outside the door to see a rotary of underground catacombs. There were no guards posted outside the door. There were some torches and lamps hanging from the dirt and stone walls. Karin suddenly felt like she was stuck in the middle of an ant's nest.

Karin carefully left the room, quietly shutting the door behind her. She looked between the paths, unsure of which way to go. It's not like Kenji left her any road maps.

Was she just supposed to pick a path and hope for the best?

She had no other choice but to do just that.

Karin let out an exasperated side and crossed her arms, picking at random a pathway and walking down it.

The pathway was dimly lit, but any light was better than no light. Karin's bare feet were cold from the damp dirt. Karin knew it was only a few minutes, but she felt like she was walking through the ages. Her heart pounded in her chest. She knew how risky leaving the room was. There could be traps anywhere, or worse, Kenji could meet her at any turn. She still didn't have Karasugetsu back, and with her serious injuries, she had little-to-no-chance in winning a fight against him.

Karin suddenly found herself back outside a familiar door standing in the middle of a familiar ring of hallways.

Karin cursed under her breath.

This really was going to be soooo much harder than she thought. Karin couldn't even remember which hallway she just came out of!

She had to stay focused. Right now, her goal was not only getting out, but finding Toshiro. But why did she want to find Toshiro again? Karin's head was throbbing and she felt felt dizzy from the blood loss.

Blood loss.

Karin looked down at the ground and saw droplets of her own blood on the ground. They led down one of the tunnels, and seemed to loop back around to where she was standing.

The soldier grinned as she bent down, wetting the tips of her fingers with her blood. It had already chilled and begun to sink into the ground.

"At least I can track where I've been."

But so could Kenji.

Karin cleared her throat as some blood trickled down the side of her mouth. Her vision was still halved from Kenji's first attacks. She really wished she knew healing kido, but with her talent in the that department, Karin would most likely end up exploding her face rather than healing it.

Karin needed to get a move on.

Karin picked another path at random and followed it to the end. She ended up in a whole new corridor. She was one step further to Kenji.

This corridor was almost identical to the first one, but it lacked the cellroom door. Karin groaned as she once again casual picked another pathway to take. She repeated this process for what seemed like hours. She felt like she had seen hundreds of duplicate hallways and corridors. The only way she knew she hadn't seen certain areas was because the didn't contain her trail of blood.

Karin's hand cradled her injured shoulder. She felt exhaustion sink in even deeper with every step she took. All of the corridors contained the same lighting, but Karin's eyes seem to ignore that and shroud her sight in a fog.

Her aching body seemed to suck the energy out of her soul. Even though Karin never stopped moving, she felt like she wasn't getting anywhere. Karin's stomach growled with hunger pains. She could really go for some of Yuzu's curry right about now, or a milkshake. She yearned for her bed back at home, or her bed back at the Academy. She wanted to lounge in Squad 10's office and talk to Rangiku and tease Toshiro.

This place was stealing her sanity from her.

Was Karin really seeing a stone staircase? Was that fancy, carved wooden door at the top really there, or was she just imagining it?

The reality didn't quite hit Karin until Karin clumsily tripped on the last elevated step and slammed her face into the door.

Karin cried out and rubbed her nose, looking at the door she just stupidly rammed into. She couldn't help but smirk at the bloody print that her injured face left on the polished wood.

"I guess this is the right door…" Karin muttered as she reached for the door knob. Her fingers went to wrap themselves around the wooden handle.

Suddenly, there was a loud crunching noise as the door splintered before Karin, sending pieces of wood flying towards her.

Karin jumped backwards as Kenji's pronged weapon sliced through the door. Her body's adrenaline gates flew open wide as Karin felt her heart begin to throb once again. The door before here was suddenly kicked down.

Kenji did not look happy to see Karin.

"You really need to learn to hide your spiritual pressure." He growled at her, holding his weaponized fists at his hips in a battle position.

"I'll do what I want!" Karin shouted as she flash stepped toward the door. She manage to squeak past Kenji, who turned to meet her and raked his claws across her back. Karin yowled as her blood was once again tossed across the Shiba estate.

Thanks to the adrenaline, she managed to keep her footing and continue to flee. She could hear Kenji's feet beat against the wooden floor after her. She could feel his immense spiritual pressure creep closer and closer.

She wished she had Karasugetsu with her. In her condition, she wouldn't be able to hold much of a fight up. But at least with a sword she could fight!

The estate was large and lavish, as the house of a noble was expected to be. Everything was cleaned, freshly polished, and richly decorated. It looked like an old historical preservation museum.

Karin felt almost good that her blood was ruining the pristine setting.

There were more sounds of footsteps as men in black and blue uniforms began to run towards Karin and Kenj. They all had matching patches on their chests. She guessed that that was the Shiba Nobel Guard.

"You'll run out of energy sooner or later, Kurosaki!" Kenji shouted. "Maybe you'll run out of places to hide before then, you can't run from all of us."

Kenji had a point there. The corridor she had been running through was coming to abrupt end before her. There were no more paths to take besides the two hallways on either side of Karin that were filled with guards. The ceiling looked solid, so Karin probably couldn't jump through it like in the action movies.

But there was a window in front of her.

Karin smirked and began to increase her pace as Kenji and the Guard began to close in on her, like a swarm of bees targeting the being who disturbed their nest.

"Quickly, block that window!" Kenji shrieked an order at the guards from behind her.

Too late.

Karin flash stepped forward, her body crashing through the decorated glass. She covered her face with her arms, feeling her bad shoulder snap in a terrible way, and hoped for the best. She whimpered as her body was thrown against the mosaic-like stone ground, like she was a piece of chicken tossed into a frying pain. Shards of glass were the spices in this recipe as Karin felt dozens of shards peirce her skin and embed themselves.

Karin didn't even hear Kenji gracefully land out of his flash step. She whined as she rolled onto her side with the uninjured shoulder, a fit of chest-wrenching coughs taking hold of her. Blood sprayed from her mouth and nose onto the marble ground. Karin's spiky, dark locks fell across her face, separating her sight from the real world. Her entire body was screaming at her, punishing her for pushing herself too far past her limits.

"It's over, Kurosaki." Kenji said to her, looking down at her like she was a rabid creature. His sword transformed back into a katana as he pointed it down at Karin. He used the tip of the blade to move her hair away from her face, staring at her with an empty gaze as a shadow fell over them.

Karin didn't even register what happened until it was all over.

There was a strong breeze and a black blur. Kenji yelled as metal clanged and slashed violently against metal. Kenji was pushed back as a foot planted itself in the middle of his chest and kicked him away from Karin.

"Don't you _dare_ say another word to her."

Karin looked up at the tall shinigami before her. His swords' hilt were clenched tightly in both hands. The tall orange-haired soul reaper had a short, black curved blade in his left hand. His right hand wielded a longer, pure black sword that had a hollow slit through the middle of it.

A second soul Reaper landed besides to Karin, his hand on his zanpakuto's lilac handle, his eyes glued to Kenji.

"Shiba, what is the meaning of this?" Toshiro asked, his gaze as cold as ever. "What are you doing inside that mansion to create that strong spiritual pressure?"

Karin was too faded to try to sniff out the reiatsu Toshiro was talking about.

"I'm not afraid of either of you Kurosaki's, nor even you, Captain Hitsugaya." Kenji explained, holding his blade defensively in front of him. "I am prepared for this fight, whether I win or lose. It's for the honor of the Shiba clan and I-"

"Would you just shut up already?!" Ichigo shouted, holding his swords offensively before him. "No one here wants a kid's blood on their blade, so just put your sword down on the ground before things get messier than they already are."

"I-Ichigo…" Karin murmured from the ground, her eyes turning to Toshiro. Neither of the men had looked down at her yet, their eyes were nailed on the danger.

Had Toshiro always been that tall?

Karin flipped herself over onto her back, the glass underneath her body chiming and grinding as she shifted her weight. She wanted to get up, to stand along with Toshiro and Ichigo, but her body just wasn't going to allow that at the moment. She quietly coughed and blood flooded her mouth. Karin tilted her head to the side and let the warm blood escape from of her mouth.

"Toshiro, can you help her?" Ichigo asked, his knuckles cracking from just how tightly he was holding his swords. Ichigo understood that he now had failed to protected both of his sisters in less than one week's time.

"Can you take care of _him_?" Toshiro asked, quietly gesturing to Kenji, as the garden courtyard the 4 were in was flooded with Shiba guards and surrounded the Shinigami.

"Yeah, I can handle them." Ichigo corrected, his eyes taking in the scene. "Easy as pie."

Toshiro released his grip on Hiyorinmaru and turned to Karin. He gingerly slide his fingers underneath her, moving to pick her up her broken and bloody body.

Karin sucked in a breath as Toshiro lifted her up and refused to allow any sounds of pain breakaway from her lips. She felt her bad shoulder pop once again and her rips crack. This hurt more than her death, but she refused to show more weakness than she already had.

"I'm sorry, just put up with the pain for a little longer." Toshiro murmured to her as he looked around at the Guards around him. "Hide your spiritual pressure if you can." He ordered to Karin as he stood back to back with Ichigo, Karin shivering form in his arms.

Luckily for her, Karin didn't have that much spiritual pressure left to seal.

"Get them!" Kenji shouted, lunging at Ichigo. All the guards poured out onto the stone square as the shinigami jumped into action.

"Toshiro, get Karin out of here!" Ichigo shouted.

Ichigo lurched forward towards Kenji, springing into the fight headfirst.

Toshiro flash stepped as the Guard swung their blades at him and Karin. Karin felt sick to her stomach from the sudden motion. Her heart felt like it was leaping up into her throat, murderously trying to suffocate her from the pain. The white haired landed on the far side of the roof of the Shiba mansion, looking down at Karin's pained expression.

"Please, don't go any further…" Karin whispered weakly, her bloodied and bruised hand reached up and gripped Toshiro's uniform, leaving desperate bloody fingerprints on his uniform. "...I don't want to leave Ichigo, and Kenji still has Karasugetsu s-somewhere."

"You idiot," Toshiro said back to her, bending down and quietly laying Karin out onto the rooftop, "you need serious help. My Kido could save your life, but it's not going to exactly leave you in fighting condition. Besides, we are not exactly safe nor in hiding on this rooftop."

"I need to find Karasugetsu." Karin replied stubbornly, wincing as her injured shoulder touched the roof. Blood pooled underneath Karin. "If you c-can patch me up enough so I can help Ichigo-"

"Karin, no. Don't even think about fighting Kenji-"

"Toshiro." Karin cut him off, looking at him with a sore expression. "I need to do this."

There was a pause between them before Karin started coughing violently, turning away from Toshiro as she spat blood up. Her injuries were not on Karin's side of the argument.

"You're in no condition to fight. I'll help you find your Zanpakuto, but I will not let you kill yourself." Toshiro answered Karin, his hands emulating a green light as he began to heal Karin.

"Not again."

Karin looked at Toshiro with sad eyes at his last words, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand. The two became silent as Toshiro simultaneously worked on Karin's shoulder and chest injuries. Karin felt the pain of her bones move back into place and the burning sensation of her skin sealing itself up. Once she felt like the pain from the wounds itself mostly ebb away, she modestly asked Toshiro to move onto the other injured areas.

Toshiro helped Karin roll over onto her side as he healed her newest injuries from Kenji and the glass. He then moved onto treating her wrists, torso, ankles, and feet from the injuries Karin received from Kenji's kido and traveling in the underground tunnel system. Karin felt a strange sensation as her muscles sewed themselves back together. She could almost feel the bruises and scratches fade away.

Finally, he moved to her face.

Karin almost flinched as his fingers came into her line of sight.

"I'm not going to hurt you." Toshiro whispered as the pads of his fingers touched her hurt skin.

"Sorry, I don't know why I did that." Karin quickly whispered as she closed her eyes as she felt Toshiro's cool touch on the left side of her face. He felt his fingers gently move some of her bangs away from the bloody gashes and behind her ear.

Karin thought the gesture was comforting.

"After what I think you just went through, a reaction like that completely understandable." Toshiro explained, silently wishing he could heal her faster. Karin was blunt, headstrong, and an absolutely insane fighter, but she didn't deserve these injuries. She hadn't done anything wrong.

"It wasn't that bad, what happened in that mansion." Karin muttered. "I don't think Kenji really wanted to hurt me like this."

"Judging by how he reacted in the courtyard, I beg to differ." Toshiro argued, watching as Karin's facial wounds began to close up. The blood disintegrated into the air.

The air between them got tense.

"Karin, did he touch-?"

"No. He just beat me up some."

Toshiro didn't say anything else as he looked intently at the arrays of deep scratches on her face.

"I think his father is the one at fault here. Kenji has issues, but his Father is the catalyst." Karin muttered, opening her eyes and looking to Toshiro. "What can you tell me about the Shiba family? About my Father's family?"

Toshiro's turquoise eyes flipped from Karin's cuts to her stormy eyes.

"The only current information I have heard about the Shiba family is that the previous former head, Kukaku, was deemed unfit to lead the family by the rest of the Shiba clan. Mutiny and corruption took the clan over, and she and her brother Ganju are no longer considered members of the Shiba clan."

"That's terrible." Karin commented, looking down. She noticed how close she and Toshiro were sitting. However, she wasn't uncomfortable with him being only a few inches away from her. Afterall, his hand was currently on her face, so he had to be close by anyways. "I couldn't imagine if Yuzu or the other morons abandoned me like that. Family should never leave family behind."

Toshiro wanted to mention how both Ganju and Kukaku helped save the Soul Society many times, but he didn't. Their story was truly tragic, even Yoruichi couldn't help the two Shiba's. However, both Kukaku and Ganju were living modestly and happily in the Seireitei, seemingly unbothered by they're banishment from the Shiba clan.

"I need to find Karasugetsu. His annoying voice won't answer me anymore." Karin stated, sternly, changing the subject. "I think I'm alright now, I need to get going and find my zanpakuto."

Toshiro slowly took his hand away from Karin's face. Her wounds were not fully healed, but the worst of her bleeding had stopped. Her broken and shattered bones were healed, her torn muscles were patched up, and her internal bleeding had been cured. She just had some bruises, plenty of scabs, and the skin around her left eye was still a bit swollen and yellowed. Toshiro deemed her current injuries to be no longer life threatening.

"How are you feeling?" Toshiro asked, standing up looking around where they were standing.

"Much better. Thanks, Toshiro, I mean-" Karin stuttered, following Toshiro's lead and standing up, "-Captain Hitsugaya."

What was she doing? She was supposed to be chewing him out! Not stuttering and correcting herself like a nervous little girl talking to the star of some dumb boy band.

"Consider it my apology for acting...childishly before." Toshiro explained, crossing his arms over his chest as he awkwardly refused to make eye contact with Karin. He casually pretended like he spotted something off in the distance. "I'm sorry, I did not as properly as a Captain should have in that sort of situation. Your business is your business, not mine."

Karin started at Toshiro intently. That was unexpected.

Toshiro's icy eyes stole a glimpse of her, shooting her a quizzical look.

"I was planning on being pissed at you a while longer, but now you've gone and ruined my plans. Now I need to think of something new." Karin explained with a smirk. " _How dare you_."

"Thank you for sparing me."

"Well, just so you know," Karin started, looking at the whited haired captain, casually tilting her head side-to-side as if she was trying to move the kinks out of her muscles, "you don't always _have_ to act like a Captain around me. It's okay to be yourself; even if you do act like you have a stick the size of Kenpachi up your ass."

" _That's_ a mental image." Toshiro grinned softly at Karin's snide remark, looking at her curiously.

He watched as Karin shuffled her feet almost nervously.

"And...sorry that I yelled at you. You were just trying to help me, but I usually see that sorta thing as being looked down on." Karin grumbled, stretching out her slightly injured shoulder. "I'm tired of needed to be protected and standing in other people's shadows, you know? I don't want to be dead weight on anyone's conscious any longer."

Toshiro looked at Karin like he was watching a dancer. He observed the way she was moving.

He had never seen her with her hair down before.

Karin's tangled, blood-caked hair was long, down past her shoulder blades, but her dark locks didn't quite reach her tail bone. Her bangs had gotten a little bit longer in the past few weeks, just reaching past her jawline.

Karin's uniform was still stained with blood and dirt. Her skin still was covered in dried blood and sweat. She looked exhausted, but her skin still had a lively, warm glow to it. Her lips were cracked, her eyebrows were untended to, and her usual casual expression was sealed with a look of confusion, anger, and a dash of pain.

She made a beautiful warrior.

"Tosh- Captain? Are you okay?" Karin asked Toshiro, raising an eyebrow as she tilted her head and Toshiro looked away from her.

"I'm fine, let's get going before the Shiba Guard realizes we're up here. Besides, I've been sensing a spiritual pressure inside the mansion for sometime now. We should go investigate."

"Sounds like a plan, Captain." Karin smiled at the casual tone Toshiro was suddenly using around her. It was just like the good ol' days.

"Karin?" Toshiro asked as he walked to the edge of the roof, his hand on Hiyorinmaru's hilt.

"Yes?"

"What I said before, about how to refer to me," Toshiro started, not looking at her as his free hand cooly adjusted the bronze chain that held his scabbard to him, "you can call me, 'Toshiro', as long as we're not around other Captains of course."

"Alright, Toshiro. Sound like a plan." Karin repeated with a huge grin. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all.

It was even better than the good ol' days.

* * *

HELLO~~~! That's it for this month~! I'm trying to beef up my chapters now~ It's easier now 'cause the hitsukarin parts of my story are finally cooking :3c

It was halloween last month! I drew some spoopy hitsukarin for this ghoulish holiday~ See it on my Tumblr at kenpachiofsquad10 under the My Art tag or the full gif version on my deviantart at LarayiaHunter :P

Thank you guys once again for reading my story! I appreciate all of your kind notes and support~ ^^ Until next month~


	23. Stolen Air

Wow, 10K views :O thank you guys so much~ I only have one chapter this month, I'm entering finals AHAHA RIP Thank you guys for all of your support, enjoy this next chapter~

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"Take a break, kid!" Ichigo shouted at Kenji as he pressed his swords against Kenji's released weapon. Some of the guards began to close in on the shinigami, but they were not on Ichigo's side.

This was getting a little ridiculous.

Ichigo flash stepped out of the moshpit of souls and landed further into the courtyard. He raised his shorter blade into the air.

"Stand down, all of you! This is your last warning!" Ichigo cried as blue flames flickered all around him. The Guard ignored his final warning.

The strawberry noticed Kenji look up to the roof of the mansion. He didn't like that look in Kenji's eyes.

"Getsuga TENSHOU!" Ichigo bellowed, careful not to focus too much power into his sword. After all, his goal wasn't to blow this place to high heaven, but he had to keep Kenji away from Karin.

Karin and Toshiro ran across the rooftop like speed racers on a speedway. Toshiro was able to track a strange spiritual pressure emulating from inside the mansion.

There was a sudden, intense blue light coming from the courtyard.

Karin couldn't help but turn her head to see reiatsu flames engulf the courtyard. She couldn't ignore the pained cries of guards being tossed around like salad by the energy.

"That's Ichigo's getsuga tenshou," Karin commented as if Toshiro didn't know that attack already, "do you think he's in trouble?"

"Ichigo is fine, trust him." Toshiro replied to Karin without looking back towards her or the courtyard. "You want to find your sword, right?"

"Of course!" Karin snipped back at Toshiro, looking at him. "Do you really think that weird spiritual pressure is Karasugetsu's?"

"I can't be sure, I've never felt this kind of spiritual pressure before." Toshiro replied. "Just be ready to run when I jump in, okay?"

"I'm not really one to run-"

"-Just do it." Toshiro cut Karin off, jumping down from the roof into the mansion itself.

Karin scowled as he jumped down.

"' _Just do it~_ '!" Karin mimicked liked a small child before jumping in after Toshiro, smirking.

Both Toshiro and Karin feet hit the polished wooden floor like feathers. Karin received a quick glare from Toshiro as she followed him. After all, he wanted her to hang back. But there was no way Karin was letting him have all the fun by himself. Besides, they were here to find _her_ sword. She should at least do something to help the situation.

Toshiro scoffed as he quickly and quietly ran through the halls, his sword drawn as ready for danger to come for them. Karin just as silently followed Toshiro, keeping an eye out for any more members of the Shiba guard.

Karin could feel them getting closer to Karasugetsu. An eerie sensation that blanketed the two shinigami. The hairs on the back of Karin's neck shot straight up. She suddenly felt sick to her stomach, like she was about to step out onto the soccer field to play a losing game.

What was this sensation?

Karin felt her feet hesitate to move beneath her.

She was so lost in thought for a brief moment that she faded away from reality for a split second.

"Get down!" Toshiro shouted as he reacted so something Karin didn't comprehend.

Karin slid her feet apart, her body lowering itself as she bent her back, performing a split-like move. Toshiro's blade swished over her face, the cool metal so close to her nose that she could feel the cold breeze shift around it.

Someone next to Karin cried out as Hyorinmari's razor-tip nicked someone.

Karin looked over to a beaten up and now bleeding Kenji. She hastily swung her feet over to the side, kicking his feet out from under him. As her classmate fell backwards, Karin jumped to her feet and gave him a royal right cross to the face. She felt his nose break in a strange way as her fist move through his face. To finish off her combination, she kicked him in the chest, sending him flying.

Toshiro flashstepped to where Kenji fell, ripping the boy's sealed zanpakuto from his hands and tossed it to Karin.

"Bakudo #63: Sajo sabaku." Toshiro chanted as he held an open palm towards a dazed Kenji. Golden chains materialized and wrapped themselves around the boy dressed in blue and white robes.

"Kenji, if you're here, where's Ichigo?!" Karin yelled, catching her classmate's zanpakuto.

Toshiro held his hand up to Karin, silently telling her to back off.

Karin shot Toshiro a look, Toshiro met her look with one of his own.

Karin saw that Toshiro wanted her to trust him on this one.

The silent exchanged ended as Karin took a deep breath and flung Kenji's sword into the wooden panel beneath her bare feet. She looked down the hall that they had come from.

Ichigo better be okay, or else Kenji was gonna have hell to pay. If Kenji wanted beat the crap out of Karin, so be it. But the second he laid a finger on Ichigo or anyone else close to her, _then_ they would have a problem.

"What is the meaning of your actions today, Shiba?" Toshiro asked Kenji strongly, stepping closer to the student. "Tell me what your motives are."

Kenji groaned, looking up at Toshiro with a dark expression. The dark-haired boy's nose was all bent in the wrong directions. A steady flow of blood trailed down his face like a red, metallic waterfall. The red almost fit his face like a mask.

"What is going on here?" Toshiro rephrased his question, looking down at Kenji.

Kenji replied to him by spitting on the ground next to Toshiro.

"This is your last chance; the Stealth Force and the 13 Court Guard Squad forces are going to be here any minute," Toshiro explained, not at all bluffing, "if you don't tell me now, I cannot guarantee your safety when they get here."

"I know what I did was wrong, but I'm not nearly as scared of you Soul Reapers like I am him." Kenji replied, swiftly. "Nothing you can do is as bad as what he does."

"Do you mean your Father?" Karin asked from behind Toshiro, having cooled off a bit, but still worried clearly about Ichigo. Her arms were crossed over her chest. Her left eye was still swollen shut, the scabs left from Kenji's earlier torture decorated her face like tattoos.

Kenji's dangerous gaze switched to Karin's like a deer looking towards a stalking wolf. He began to shake violently, as if he was so scared he was sent into shock.

"You don't understand, every since he picked up your blade, he's no longer the man he used to be!" Kenji shrieked as he began to break down, his eyes wide with fear. "Your filthy sword changed him, he was terrible before, and it's an utter monster now! And it's all your fault, you _wretched KUROSAKI_!"

"What the hell are you talking about, you nut job-" Karin started before Toshiro moved.

The snow-colored hair Captain raised his arm, pointing his blade across Karin as if to separate her from Kenji.

"Karin, back off." Toshiro ordered, not looking back at her.

Karin shot the back of Toshiro's head a pissed-off look. His moodiness hit him like a brick once again.

"Tch." The ebony-haired girl grumbled as she rested the back of Kenji's sword against her shoulder, boredly watching the boy chained-up in front of her.

The two had swapped places within just a few hours' time.

"You are making a mistake not telling us what we want to know, Shiba." Toshiro warned, staring at the student. "I could help you."

"There is no helping me." Kenji growled, looking up at Toshiro with a low gaze.

Kenji bowed his head quietly.

"I'm really sorry about this." The boy whispered to the wood-panel floor.

Karin felt it before Toshiro did. There was no way Toshiro could feel the sensation she did.

After all, it was her own zanpakuto she sensed.

"TOSHIRO!" Karin bellowed as she flashstepped forward and dived into the captain. She tackled him into Kenji and threw the three of them against the wall. The ceiling above them exploded and crumbled as the air shuttered with spiritual pressure.

Karin looked over her shoulder as she held her body protectively over Toshiro and the restrained Kenji.

"What do you think you're doing, you idiot?!" Toshiro howled at Karin, looking up at her and past her. No one could react as Karin was picked up by a force and thrown through a nearby wall.

" _NO_!" Toshiro shouted with wide eyes as she was catapulted out of the space, standing in front of Kenji as he lifted his blade towards the power in front of him.

A student protecting a captain? That was unheard of! Not to mention Karin had protected a newly-named criminal as well!

Toshiro couldn't sense Karin's spiritual pressure. He prayed that was because she was still sealing it.

As of for the time being, Toshiro had to stop himself from rushing over to the wrecked wall and face the problem at hand; the man who stood before them with a roaring spiritual pressure.

"F-Father?" Kenji asked with a shaking voice behind Toshiro.

The man no longer wore the stunning noble clothes that were decked-out in the whirlpool symbols he once had. He now clothed himself in a a red kimono with a white sash around his waist that hung loosely. His neat hair was brushed back into a low ponytail, like Kenji's hair. He wore a decorated breastplate that had the Shiba insignia over his heart. A crimson sheath dipped in darkness hung from his waist.

Karasugetsu's released blade was not only in his right hand, but it appeared that the torn cloth that was wrapped around the hilt wrapped up the Nobel's arm.

"Shiba Katashi, the current head of the Shiba noble." Toshiro muttered to himself, his sword ready to strike the man before him. All the hairs on his body stuck up and chills traced down Toshiro's spine from the waves of raw power this man was radiating. "I was wondering when you would come to welcome us into your home."

"Do not get cocky with me, Captain." The noble spat at the captain. "I am not here to welcome you, I am here to purge my house of unwanted vermin, like that filthy girl who is now splattered all over that wall over there."

"Don't you _dare_ insult her," Toshiro warned in a low tone, not caring how politically nor physically powerful this man was, "you're threatening a total of three shinigami and a Substitute soul reaper. You tortured one of them so terrible that she almost died. And I'm guessing you do not treat your son, who is training to become a full-fledged soul reaper, very well."

"What of it?"

"Legally, things are not looking good for you." Toshiro informed, dangerously.

"And what of it, boy?" The proud Shiba asked, licking Karin's blade.

Toshiro heard Kenji groan with disgust behind him.

"And don't you dare address me like _that_." The air around Toshiro shivered as the temperature in the room crashed. The sky outside became clouded as blue reiatsu flames surrounded Toshiro.

For Karin's sake, he didn't have time to mess around with this crazy old man,

" _Bankai; Daiguren Hiyorinmaru."_ Toshiro whispered breathlessly as ice encased his body, turning pale. The room filled with freezing fog.

 _Karin_ didn't have the time to waste on this insane noble.

The room shook as Toshiro's spiritual pressure raised. Ice crunched and chimed to the ground as a set of purple flowers formed in the air above where Toshiro had been standing. As quickly as they gathered, they instantly crumbled into snowflakes that lightly dusted the wooden floor.

Shards of ice covered the ground like confetti.

"C-captain...Hitsugaya?" Kenji shuttered as he looked up at Toshiro as the cold air in the room began to circulate, sweeping away the thick fog.

Toshiro released a cold breath, his gaze locked on Katashi.

"Just what the hell are you?" The nobel asked, his dark eyes wide with surprise.

"I'm Toshiro Hitsugaya, Captain of Squad 10." Toshiro's deep, airy voice answered. His five foot eleven inches form stood taller than he had just a moment before. He pointed his blade with a double guard at the dark-haired man.

"And this is for Karin."

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Thank you for continuing to read my story~ Sorry for the solo chapter~ I'll try to get more done for next month, but no promises ^^

Tell me what you think in a review~! I appreciate all of your follows/favs, but I LOOOOVE reviews! You guys are all too nice. Let's keep this fandom alive together~

One again, kenpachiofsquad10 is my tumblr URL (if tumblr is still even around at this point pwahaha) so if you wanna see lots of hitsukarin sketches, some of which are from this story/deleted scenes from this story, go check my blog out!


	24. Final Betrayal

Yeah, I'm hitting that point where I'm starting to run outta steam. I'm just a few months from finishing this story, tho. Then after some recharge time, I'll hopefully find the motivation to start PART TWOOOO OF THREEEEE~! *cue the thunderclap and the power going out as I turn my revolving chair towards you, stroking a plush hyorinmaru dragon in my lap*

There's alot shit happening in my life rn that sucking me dry, and not in the way I'd like. So I apologize for the solo chapter again x,3 I hope I can post a few next month, but IDK what's gonna happen... I might take a break next month, but we will see what happens~ I promise some HitsuKarin artwork tho on my Tumblr, KenpachiOfSquad10 to tide y'all over if that happens~! ^^

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Karin groaned as she sat up in the pile of splinters. Her head was throbbing, but at least she wasn't bleeding again.

That was when Karin remembered what was going on and where she was.

"Karasugetsu!" Karin cried out, jumping to her feet, Kenji's sword still in her hand. She could sense that her sword's spiritual pressure was right in front of her, yet she couldn't see the actual blade.

There was a flood of immense spiritual pressure and a tinkling sound, like glass bells clashing against each other.

Karin squeaked as she flashstepped to her left, a huge wave of ice crashing into the demolished wall where she had just been camping next to as she collected her thoughts.

"Toshiro, you idiot! Look at where you're aiming with that thing!" Karin shouted, her dark gaze looking ahead over where the ice came from. A cold fog swirled around her feet like ribbons.

She locked eyes with a fully-grown, adult male.

"K-Karin…!" Toshiro quietly gasped, taking his eyes off of Katashi for a moment.

Karin was just staring at him, her jaw almost hitting the ground as she pointed at him.

"JUST WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU?!" Karin shouted, feeling her soul leave her body.

Wait a second, she was a soul. That's not how that worked.

Wait a second x2 COMBO, then how would that work…?

Wait a second x3 COMBO, Karin had other things to deal with rather than hyper focused HC's about Soul Society.

Karin blinked at Toshiro. His hair was just a bit longer, but styled the same way it had been, making Karin think of a fantasy prince character in a RPG MMO. His height had seemingly continued to increased by several more inches. He wasn't tall, but he wasn't a shrimp anymore.

The little sucker now had a couple of inches more than Karin, no fair!

"I'm not really a fan of this form-" Toshiro started, cutting through the silence as he looked away from Karin, as if he was ashamed of stealing her snack during nap time or something.

"-I am." Karin cut him off, touching her nose to make sure it wasn't bleeding.

Karin recovered her filter as she noticed Toshiro's rosey cheeks. She wondered if they were kissed from the cold, or if something else was afoot. She quietly studied his changed face. After all, the colored cheeks weren't the only new look Toshiro had to offer.

Toshiro's face was suddenly less round and more angular. His eyes had matured as well, his eyelashes lengthened themselves. His uniform no longer fit him correctly, his hakama pants cut off just below his knees. The flowing fabric, however, had been tucked into thigh-high boots made of ice. His shihakusho top had fallen out, revealing his sun kissed, lean body. His captain's coat was much too short, matching the length of a mini-skirt rather than a majestic jacket.

Toshiro looked like a father being forced into-playing dress-up with his small children.

Ice-hard armor decorated his body like ornaments. An ice collar covered his neck and shot off into pauldrons across his shoulder. Iced gauntlets protected his sandy arms. Two wings made of ice sprouted from his back.

A snow angel.

That is what Toshiro was. An actual snow angel.

 _HOW DID INSTANT PUBERTY TREAT HIM SO WELL?_

" **Keep your eyes on ME**!" A low roar tore Toshiro and Karin's interactions away from one another.

The Nobel's body skillfully flew out of the fog and moved in Karin's direction.

Toshiro disappeared and reappeared next to Karin, slashed his sword through the air as huge wall of ice rose out of the ground and shot up towards the ceiling. However, Katashi was too fast. His blade collided with the one Karin quickly raised defensively above her.

Karin's Zanpakuto clashed violently with Kenji's zanpakuto with shrieking silence.

 _Karin, please, help me… it hurts so bad!_ Karasugetsu's childish voice begged inside of Karin's head. The feelings of torture just flowed from his words in waves. _I promise I won't call you a bitch anymore! HELP ME!_

She suddenly felt sick to her stomach. The sensation took hold of her head and hit her like a gong was vomitous. She felt the color drain from her face as Karasugetsu's cries sang in her ears like sirens.

Toshiro swiped his sword at the Nobel's feet, forcing him to retreat deeper into the cold room.

"Karin, are you okay?" Toshiro asked, wanting to reach out and touch her shoulder in a comforting way. But if he did so, there was a chance he would freeze Karin solid. He still hadn't trained himself to use this bankai properly yet.

"I'm fine, but Karasugetsu isn't." Karin grumbled, placing her palm over her left eyes as if to steady herself. "I need to get him back…"

"We will," Toshiro started, turning back to the room, "but I need you to get Kenji out of here, and find Ichigo."

"No way, I'm not leaving you alone with that freak!" Karin urged before Toshiro held his hand up.

"Your presence is handicapping my abilities. I don't have as much control in this forum as I could, and I don't want to risk your safety _or_ Kenji's. I can't take Katashi down until you gets get far from here."

"But Toshiro…!" Karin whined, looking at Toshiro like he had told her that her best friend or the nonexistent family dog had died.

"I'm sorry, Karin-"

"Don't say it, Toshiro, please, _please_ don't-"

"-but that's an order."

Karin felt a tear slowly dig through the lump of flesh she dubbed her heart. Her watery gaze turned as hard as stone.

"I can't believe you, Toshiro."

Toshiro looked away from Karin and back to the fight, sealing his soften gaze from Karin's vision. He couldn't look at her pained expression any longer.

It hurt too much for him. Being this close to the source of his weakness was already too toxic for either party. Yet, once again, he was just adding acid to the chemical compound.

"Once you find Ichigo, if you can find him, get Kenji to the Stealth Force or to whoever you can find." Toshiro continued, his eyes looking for any movement from Katashi. "We'll deal with him later."

"After all that we've been through…? And you have the balls to pull _that_ line?" Karin asked, shaking with raw power. Her jawline was tight-set "This is my fight, too, don't you realize that!?"

Toshiro did not know what to say, what he could say, to her after what he just order her to do.

Like a coward who was too weak to face an enemy, he flashstepped back into battle before another word could be uttered between him and Karin.

"I can't believe you," Karin whispered with a quivering heart. "you're a fucking _bastard_ , Toshiro…"

Betrayed once again, the long-haired girl, foreign sword in hand, quietly walked over to the shivering, bound form who was Kenji.

Did no one trust her abilities?

She obediently picked up the defiant boy and slung him over her shoulder like he weighed nothing, Kenji's sword in her hand.

Did Toshiro really see her as someone who would always be in the way?

Karin silently looked to the battlefield, ignoring Kenji's distasteful cries to put him down. She listened to the sounds of Hyorinmaru fighting off Karasugetsu. She could hear her Zanpakuto begging for his master to save him.

The lil' brat was in so much pain. He didn't deserve this.

"Sorry, just bare with it a little bit longer." Karin whispered, moving towards the demolished walls and to the outside.

"I will not!" Kenji shouted back at her, shifting in her hold, trying to break free of both Toshiro's kido and Karin's grip.

"Shut it, asshole, I wasn't talking to _you_ ," Karin grumbled, her pressure on Kenji increasing so he couldn't wiggle out of her grasp, "and you're not going anywhere, so don't even try getting away from me!"

"How dare you, Kurosaki, I demand you put me down RIGHT NOW!" Kenji shouted at Karin, not giving up his efforts.

"It's good to see that you're back your your annoying self, but I'm not really interested in dealing with a little whiny frig-face right now." Karin threatened as she held up Kenji's sword in a threatening way. "Tell me what happened to Ichigo or I'll turn you into a shish-kabob."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Kenji replied with a scowl.

Karin's feet skidded to a stop as she threw the boy down on his back. Kenji cried out at the air was torn from his body. Karin placed the tip of the sword on the skin of Kenji's Adam's apple.

"I gave you your only warning. Tell me what I wanna know **now**."

"I really don't know!" Kenji shouted at Karin, desperately. "I was fighting him for a moment, and then he shot off that blue light at me and ran off!"

"Ichigo ran away?" Karin asked suspiciously. "That really don't sound like my brother. Something tells me that you're lying to me."

"I'm not! Really, he ran off!" Kenji cried, looking up at Karin with a wide gaze. "I really don't know where he went!"

Karin stared at the boy, something just didn't add up. Running away was never a thing that Ichigo would ever consider, especially when it would be something involving one of his younger sisters!

Karin's mind briefly grasped its' fingers on the thought of Ichigo being defeated.

No, that wasn't right. It couldn't be! He was Ichigo Kurosaki, a big-shot savior of Soul Society! No way some first-class bitch such as Kenji and his elite asshole squad could take Ichigo down.

Ichigo had to have something up his sleeve.

He just had to be scheming something, he had to be.

Karin was just gonna have to put her faith in her brother and take a new course of action.

"Okay, Kenji, new question;" Karin grumbled, digging the tip of his sword through the first few layers of his skin, a single drop of blood trickling down his elongated and distressed neck, "what the hell has your father done to my zanpakuto?"

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Thank you for reading my story and for supporting me~ I hope I'm doing these guys justice!

Srly tho go check out my tumblr. I'm pumping out so much HitsuKarin drawings rn AND IT'S NOT GONNA STOP~!


	25. Oh, Brother

**Yo! Naw, I'm not done with this story, I AM GONNA FINISH IT! Lots has happened, and lots will continue to happen, so :/ but I promise, this story will be finished and it will be finished SOON!**

 **I'm still dyslexic, so, sorry for any spelling errors/grammar I did not catch**

 **Thanks for waiting, but here's the next chapter! ^^**

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"He's trying to WHAT with my sword!?" Karin gaped, dumbfounded at Kenji's long and complicated response to her question. The sounds of that _bastard_ Toshiro's battle and Karasugetsu's laments inside her head were not making it easy to concentrate her last brain cells on what absurd plan was being regurgitated back at her. "Is that even possible!?"

"How am I supposed to know!?" Kenji shouted back at Karin, gritting his teeth from the stress of having to interact with such a moron. "I know just as much as you!"

Karin lowered the blade from Kenji's throat, pointing it down at the ground. She leaned in and grabbed him by his top, pulling him close to her face as her predator eyes stared into his.

"Obviously, you know a lil' more than I do! This _Nobel_ bastard told you his plan, after all! You just told me he's trying to 'become one with my sword'!" Karin quoted back to Kenji, she was so close to Kenji she could see his pupil dilate out what she hoped was fear. "If you don't explain what the hell is happening, which it sounds like your bat-shit crazy old-man is trying to fuck my zanpakuto, I promise you're going to wish you got taken in by the punishment force rather than the hell I'm about to you through!"

"Back up and I'll tell you!" Kenji snarled before spitting on her face. "You're so close to me, you're stealing all the air!"

Karin didn't even flinch as she wiped her face on her filthy arm. She had just about enough enough of this rich boy. She threw Kenji down against the ground and once again held his own zanpakuto to his neck. The expression on her face made the tone of this conversation clear: She was about to lose it, and that was not something Kenji would want penciled in on his schedule.

"Get talking." Karin ordered, her face contorted with a fiery anger that called for blood.

"You know who I am right? I'm Kenji Shiba, of the Shiba clan."

"And I'm not stupid, what else?"

"You know that your shameful father was once apart of our clan, right? He was one of the only Shiba members to become a shinigami. In fact, he was Toshiro's predecessor of the Captain of Squad 10."

"Sure, sure, but what does this have to do with Katashi stealing my sword?" Karin asked, her right hand wrapping tighter and tighter around the hilt of Kenji's sword. She was getting antsy, and Karasugetu was getting quieter and quieter.

"Having strong spiritual power is rare, especially within the Shiba bloodline. My father has a small amount of it, he has just enough to collect even more."

"To _what_?" Karin gasped, feeling her blood run as cold as Toshiro's bankai.

Kenji's lips curled up into a hideous sneer. He found himself slowly regaining the upper hand. Karin was getting shaken.

"My father's one wish is to become a shinigami greater than your father. He found a way to steal someone else's power, to become the strongest! But he needs to find a target within our bloodline, it must be a power exchange through blood."

Karin grit her teeth, glaring at Kenji. The fire within herself rose to higher heights, melting all the ice in her veins. Never in her life had she felt so disgusted. A man who craved power so much that he'd steal what he didn't have? For what reason could he want to do such a thing?

"So if that's true, why the hell didn't he take yours!? After all, his blood runs through your veins! It'd be like stealing candy from a baby!" Karin questioned, feeling more and more uneasy about what was in store for her and Karasugetsu.

Kenji got quiet. A few moments passed, he looked down at the metal of his blade, his bangs concealing his gaze from Karin's view.

Something took ahold of his heart and squeezed.

"Well?!" Karin asked, impatiently awaiting her answer.

"He thinks you're stronger than me." Kenji admitted, ashamed of himself. "He doesn't want what I have, compared to what he _could_ have."

Karin wanted to take pride in that, rub it in his face a little, but something stopped her from mocking him. She took a deep breath, and lowered his blade, piercing the metal into the ground between Kenji's quivering legs.

"You always beat me, you learned your zanpakuto's name before me. Besides kido, you always scored better than me. You got all of this-" Kenji spewed, before cutting himself off and looking up at Karin with disgust.

"I hate you." He swore to the dark haired woman, his dark eyes saying everything else. His black, spiked hair shuffled with the quiet wind.

Karin looked at him, taking a moment to think about what to say, as the breeze twisted and tossed her long hair. Again, she wanted to mock him, to make him feel small, but she was again stopped by something unknown.

She saw a little kid sitting before her, someone who didn't know how to control his emotions.

Karin Kurosaki was better than that, she had to be better than this.

"Karin!" Someone called, breaking the silence between the two cousins.

Three blurs materialized before the Kurosaki. One was orange, one was candied, and one was copper.

"Ichigo! You're okay!" Karin cried with relief, turning away from Kenji. Her older brother was a bit scuffed up, but he was in one piece.

"Of course I am, do you have no faith in your older brother?" Ichigo teased, looking to Kenji. "That kid is a lil' trickier than I gave him credit for, besides, I found some people that wanna talk to him."

A girl in a red and white uniform dashed past Karin and dove into Kenji, wrapping her arms around him.

"Ah! I'm so glad you're okay, Kenji!" Asuga cried, her copper hair settling around her. The masked Hiroki stood over them, looking to Karin with sad eyes.

"A-Asuga!" Kenji cried, shocked by the sudden appearance of his classmates.

Before Kenji could truly react, however, Asuga released him and briskly hit him on the head and a balled fist. Kenji cried out in pain, looking at the girl with a crazed confusion.

"What the heck were you thinking? Why would you do such terrible things to Karin! And why would you disappear from class like that!?" She shouted at him. "Don't you know how much trouble you're gonna in!? You might even be expelled."

Kenji looked to Hiroki for help, the pastel boy stayed quiet. The Shiba boy had to reap what he had sewn.

Karin was all for touching reunions and such, but she had a mission: to find her zanpakuto. She turned to Ichigo, who looked at her with concern.

"Ichigo…" Karin started, frowning. "I need to go, but I need you to stay here, and not to let Kenji slip away again."

Ichigo scoffed at Karin's request.

"Are you serious? Do you realize how selfish you sound right now? Besides, you can't do anything in this situation, you don't even have a weapon!" Ichigo objected, crossing his arms. Just then, a huge crash was heard as a pillar of ice broke through what was left of the Shiba dwelling. Asuga cried out as everyone but Karin turned to the building.

"I know this is bad, and I'm pretty terrible, but I need to do this." Karin explained vaguely. "You had your adventure, now it's time for me to fix mine."

"Karin…." Ichigo said, dangerously. "If you're not careful, you will die. There will be no second chances, no loopholes, and NO way of keeping your memories."

Karin stood her ground proudly. She looked at Ichigo with a look so strong that it made Ichigo lost his words.

"I know, but Karasugetsu is my zanpakuto. He is my responsibility, I couldn't protect him, Ichigo, and now I have to make up for it."

Protect. That was a word the ginger knew a thing or two about.

"I could hear his voice inside my soul, I could hear how much pain he was in. But now he's been quiet for some time, and I'm sure you can sense that weird spiritual pressure within the building." Karin explained, balling her fists. "But I know what's going on now, and Toshiro is in there trying to do what I should be." Karin looked up at Ichigo, who was finding himself quiet.

"I'm not going to let anyone else get hurt for me failing to protect my sword!" She promised. "Karasugetsu is a brat, and he thinks he knows all that, but so do I! And right now, I need to save him from that Nobel bastard's clutches! I can still sense his snobby energy, and only I can 'cause he and I are…" Karin paused, trying to think of the word she was searching for.

What was Karasugetsu? Friends? No, that wasn't right. A teacher to her? Sure, but that wasn't it. He was definitely a pain in her butt, too, but that STILL wasn't the term Karin was seeking for.

"We're partners." Karin finished. "So I have to go."

Ichigo sighed, looking to Kenji, Hiroki, and Asuga.

"Fine, but under one condition." The strawberry man stated, holding up his pointer finger to Karin.

"You don't want me to become a soul reaper?" Karin asked, unable to stop a smile from replacing her signature frown. "It's too late for that."

Ichigo let go of a soft breath, starting at his sister with warm, brown eyes. "Unfortunately, that's hereditary." He quipped. "Just, promise me you'll come back this time."

"Only if you promise to stay here with these guys." Karin rebuked, smirking slyly as she placed her deal on the table. "If I really need your help, you'll know."

Ichigo rolled his eyes and sighed again.

"Okay," he started, reaching out his hand and patting her on the head, "I promise."

Karin grinned and lurched forward, briefly embracing her brother. Kenji looked away from the Kurosaki's, Asuga smiled at the touching moment. Hiroki wished for a pastry.

"Thank you, Ichigo, for trusting me." She whispered to him, letting his warmth surround her for a moment. She felt safe and strong with her brother, but it was time to let go of that.

"I'll be back soon," Karin took a step back from Ichigo and turned to the Shiba ruins, "Stay safe!" She said to the small group of shinigami.

"You better be." Ichigo muttered as he watched Karin run towards the broken building. He prayed letting her go into the icy, bloody battle alone wasn't making a grave mistake.

 **I'm working on the next chapter now, but I don't think I'm gonna upload again until I have the rest of the story finished! I just wanted to post something now so you'd know I'm still here and kick'n xP We're getting close!**

 **That said, there will be one or two hiccups in the story cuz WHOOPS IT'S BEEN OVER A YEAR SINCE I'VE TOUCHED THIS. Oh well, but hopefully I can finish stronger than I started this hunk of whatever~**

 **That said, I do still post lots of original HitsuKarin art on my tumblr, you can find me with the URL kenpachiofsquad10 so check me out there!**


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